L'amore in Italia
by miacchi
Summary: AU: A two week holiday in Rome, or possibly even more.
1. First Encounter

**A/N: sorry . this fic was really late (supposed to come out in November) . but I needed a little (cough) vacation . here's the first chapters , and thanks for the pm's and or reviews that requested I make this fic :D This will be pretty much Neji's POV, but I'll keep switching a little bit. omg holidays now !!**

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* * *

****Chapter 1**

"HAAAAAPPPYYY BIRTHDAY, NII-SAAAAANNNN!!!"

"Hanabi-sama, you can let go of me now…" I said as I tried to pry the little (16 year old) devil- err, cousin off me. Just because I'm 21 doesn't mean you should scream at the top of your lungs to greet me or glomp me the moment I step out of my bedroom.

"N-nii-san, otou-sama wants to s-see you…" Hinata stuttered while leading Hanabi to the other room. I wonder why…

* * *

"You called?" I entered Hiashi's study silently.

"Have a seat."

"So, what's this one about?"

"Since you're 21, it's about time I give you a start off at one of the hotels. In Europe, perhaps? Take a vacation there for two weeks."

"Is there a problem? And I've been thinking about Italy for some time, actually."

"You've been studying and working overtime."

"It has a benefit, uncle."

"And so does taking a leave. Now go pack, or I'll disown you."

"And if I want to get disowned?"

"You'll be working as Hanabi's servant; you have 3 seconds."

"But -!" Seriously, my uncle could be SUCH a bastard most of the time.

"2…"

"Gawd, you bitch…" I muttered.

"1- what was that?"

"N-nothing, Hiashi-sama. I'll be packing now." I'm hoping he never heard that comment.

"You leave with Hinata by 11 pm, understood?"

"Why Hinata? Can't I go alone? I'm already 21," I frowned. I mean, it isn't usual for you to be watched like a child by your younger cousin.

"She wants a little vacation. Would you prefer Hanabi?"

That means babysitting, which means… no freedom. Damn.

"Never mind. I'm packing."

* * *

_**After minutes of packing and preparing…**_

And so, the babbling began.

"So here are your tickets, the hotel address and what you need to do-"

"Nii-san! Buy me something branded like a bag or something! Or more-"

"O-Oh, I need to stop b-by the ATM machine-" I can't believe Hinata-sama is a part of this. Maybe my birthday is just a bad day to travel.

"- and you need to be at the airport by 11 o'clock-"

"-clothes or shoes or something like a new coat so-"

"- I swear, I-I'll only take five m-minutes then-"

"SHUSH! WE'RE GOING NOW. Goodbye, Hanabi-sama, Hiashi-sama." I screamed (yes, I did) and led Hinata-sama to our ride.

"- SO GET GOING! Haven't I taught you your manners?"

"-BYEE!! SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS!"

"-we can… go?"

And so the two cousins drove do get to an ATM machine and leave.

_**

* * *

**_

Timeskip after the plane trip…

"Hm. So this is Rome," I said, pulling my luggage along.

"I-It's so beautiful!" Hinata agreed.

"Our ride should've been here by now," I stated, stopping at the airport's front door.

"I think w-we should g-give him more t-time…" Hinata looked at her platinum watch to check the time.

"Let's take the bus," I was getting a little impatient.

"I think we should w-wait."

"Don't worry, I've got the address."

"Then I'll w-wait on my own and you take the bus," Hinata pouted.

"Fine. But if you don't make it, you're going back home."

And so, I, Hyuuga Neji walked to the nearby bus stop with his luggage.

_**

* * *

**_

On the bus…

"Does this go to #104 Maggio street?" I asked the bus driver, reading the address off the piece of paper.

"Yes," the driver answered in a fluent Italian accent.

I paid with my converted money and got to the empty seat in the middle. As I stared out the window, I enjoyed seeing the city of Rome; One of my hobbies are sightseeing, like how I stay at my balcony and stare up at the sky. It was all calm, except for the noises the other passengers make, but still a bit relaxing. That is, until _she _came.

"WAIT! STOOPPP!!" came a loud, muffled voice coming from outside of the vehicle. Curious, (and a bit annoyed) I looked out the window to see a woman about my age running towards the bus' door trying hard to pull her skirt down.

_**

* * *

**_

With Hinata …

I've been waiting for about ten minutes now. I just can't stop glancing at my watch every minute, which is a strong habit of mine whenever I'm nervous. But then, I was approached by a man.

"Hey, you're Hyuuga Hinata, aren't you?" he asked, grinning madly at me.

He was really tall; I was a tiny bit below his shoulder. His hair was blonde, but not platinum. His eyes were a deep blue, with a glint of happiness which you could clearly see by looking at his face. He had whisker marks on both sides of his face, which I found really cute. He was tanned, but he didn't exactly look Italian.

"Y-yes?" I squeaked. I'm usually scared of boys, excluding my family and relatives.

"Well, we're going on a ride to the hotel!" he cheerfully said.

He carried my luggage and led me to a white limo. Feeling lonely, I decided to stay with him at the front. I guess car rides aren't as boring as I thought.

_**

* * *

**_

With Neji …

She was strange, that woman. She had 2 buns atop her head and her bangs hanging either side of her face. Isn't that hair style a bit too childish for her? And her chocolate eyes matched perfectly with her dark brown hair- which was a slightly lighter brown than mine. Her cheeks were blushing from exhaustion, running after the bus and all. She paid the driver and walked and almost tripped on the way to my seat.

I only noticed that my seat was the only vacant one. Luckily, my luggage was perfectly safe nearby.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" she asked in a soprano voice. Thank god she spoke English.

"No," I answered and she gave a smile at me. The last thing I want to do is to repel customers from the hotel. "Thanks, I really needed a seat," she sat down.

"Shit," she muttered. "I'm late and I have to get coffee for _them_."

I decided not to ask, since it's not my business. It was a bit silent between us so she started a conversation. "Hey, what's your name?"

"…" I was a bit freaked out by that first sentence.

"… well, anyways. My name is- oh crap! Here's my stop! Sorry, gotta go!"

Before she got up, I told her. "Neji. Hyuuga Neji."

She smiled and waved outside where I could still hear her. "_Arrivederci, Neji!"_

What an amusing person. A bit… unusual but very interesting, I guess. At least I told her my name. We might not see each other, but I'll remember her.

Well, here's my stop. I got my luggage and stepped off the bus. I hope Hinata-sama made it here safely. Conveniently, the stop was right across the hotel.

* * *

The moment I stepped in, I was welcomed by a very familiar brunette.

"Welcome to Hotel di Konoha, the best japanese-influenced hotel in Rome, where we serve best! We got the best staff, as well as the most enthusiastic! If you're not pleased with a staff member, report them to the Hotel Manager and she'll kick his ass for… YOU!!!"

Suddenly, this trip just got very interesting. My birthday isn't a boring occasion as I used to think it was.

* * *

TBC

**How was that for a start ? i hope i get reviews . please !**

**- kLk .**


	2. Day 1 Part I: Welcoming

**A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for the late update; just thinking . and really busy in year 9 ayyeeeee . I'll update more coz laptop is coming, and its holidays. Tomorrow's the last day (of the term) so yeah.**

**Thanks to the reviewers, or I wouldn't have updated:**

_**Organization-15**_

_**Crack and kat**_

_**PurplePanda1010**_

**Enjoy the 2****nd**** chapter!!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

It's that strange woman on the bus! What a coincidence; she works here! If it wasn't for my ego, I would've screamed "Oh em gee, its you!" at the top of my lungs too. She stood there with a confused yet happy look in her eyes.

"Hey, I know you! That guy from the bus! Huu… Hyuu-" she tried remembering my name. And we met like, 10 minutes ago.

"Hyuuga Neji," I said and held out my hand.

"Right. I SO knew that! Hyuuga-san. Thanks for giving me a seat; that's really nice of you," she shook my hand.

"So, what was your name?" I asked. Suddenly, her eyes went to her pocket. I guess the hotel has cellphones for hotel workers only to use at work. "Oh, sorry. My boss is waiting for me. I swear I'll be back in a few!" and she ran in the same direction as a blonde man.

"Nii-san! I'm glad y-you made it!" I was a bit surprised that Hinata was there; not that I'd admit. "When d-did you get h-here?"

"Oh. I just got here, actually," I replied. "And you?"

"F-Five minutes ago," she stuttered. "The receptionist s-said to wait for the manager to finish their m-meeting so w-we could get our r-rooms."

I sighed. "Then, let's wait." And we sat at the lobby.

* * *

After an hour, people were rushing out in one of the rooms. Must be the staff, 'cause they're wearing uniforms. All of a sudden, this blonde woman approached us.

"How do you like Rome so far?" she asked.

"B-Beautiful," Hinata replied.

"Great," I said.

"Well, my name is Tsunade, Hotel Manager. Hinata-sama, you'll be staying in the 25th floor, room 250. And you'll be staying next door in 251, Neji-sama," she announced. "I'll inform you of who'll be in charge of taking care of you two."

"Let's just go see the rooms and unpack or something. I'm bored," I suggested.

* * *

"'Hyuuga Neji', it says. Nice, platinum nameplate," I said to myself. My room was HUGE. Half of the 25th floor and Hinata's is on the other side. I can tell you; these people are good. They totally cloned my room at home. Huge-ass bed and too many pillows that take up my bed space, leather recliner chairs in front of a gigantic plasma TV, video game consoles, fridge and a kitchen to match, big bathtub and shower and a toilet and sink (obviously), and you can leave the rest to your imagination.

Just then, a knock came and my baggage was delivered by some happy looking guy with a weird, suspicious smile on his face. Familiar…

I started unpacking myself, for I hate it when other people touch my belongings.

**KNOCK KNOCK.**

"HYUUGA-SAMA!!! YOU THERE?! HELLO!!!" a loud, annoying male voice came. I opened the door to see 2 blondes and a rosette. GREAT.

"Can I help you?" I asked, trying to hide my irritation.

"Hyuu..ga Hina…ta. Isn't that like, a girl's name?" the blonde girl read from her palm as her sky blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. The blonde guy behind him, who had whisker-like marks on his face, looked like he tried not to laugh.

"Baka! I saw her before, and he's not as cute as her! You sure you're related? She seems SO much nicer!" the blue eyed guy said.

"Yes, that is my cousin next door. Try reading the name on the door, morons," I said coldly. I'm feeling a bit pissed because of their interruption.

"Hyuuga… Neji…?" the green eyed girl said.

"HAHAHAHA!!! NEJI!!! NICE NAME, _**SCREW!!!**_" the stupid guy said. They better not hurt Hinata…

"BASTARD!" the two blondes' voices were heard throughout the floor. The rosette approached me.

"Ano… gomen. Please forgive Ino-chan and Naruto-baka for being rude," she bowed and ran off to chase them.

"This time, you knock on the door. Hinata-sama might faint…" I reminded her. She nodded and followed the other two.

"Freaks…" I said to myself before closing the door. Seriously, a bleached blonde with whiskers in a messy uniform, a girl with PINK hair and a huge forehead, and a loudmouth platinum blonde that looks ,again, little familiar… what was Tsunade thinking hiring them…?

* * *

_**Hinata's room (Hinata's POV )**_

"W-wow…" I whispered to myself. They mimicked my room at home perfectly. Luckily, my luggage arrived early in the room, so I can unpack and organize myself. I can't help but remember the nice man who drove me to the hotel. He always had a smile on, and it puts a smile on my face every time he made a joke about someone. Even if he smiles all the time, I see this glint of sadness in his blue eyes. I wish to help him, but I might not meet him again.

I heard three knocks from my door, with some voices. I opened it to see 2 girls, and... that blonde man I met.

"A-Ano… may I h-help you?" I asked quietly, trying not to look at him in the eye. He forgot to tell me his name, but he told me a lot of things.

"AH! HINATA-CHAN! IT'S YOU!" the guy gave me a hug and I saw his nametag. _Uzumaki Naruto…? _Oh, I heard his name on the news a few years ago. People thought he was a delinquent because of his constant troublemaking back in Konoha, like how he vandalized all over the Hokages' faces.

I blushed hard and the girls pulled him off me and he ruffled my hair. "Ne, Sakura-chan! Isn't she cute?" he asked the pink haired girl. She smiled at me and introduced herself. "Haruno Sakura."

"Haruno Sakura-san… I like your name," I said nicely.

"Yamanaka Ino," the blonde girl said. Her platinum blonde hair shined in the light and her blue eyes were twinkling.

"Yamanaka-san, Haruno-san. Please, just call me Hinata."

"How 'bout Hina-chan?" Naruto-kun suggested.

I started feeling dizzy and the last thing I saw were black spots.

* * *

_**Neji's POV**_

"OH FUCK, HE'S GONNA KILL US!!!" I heard outside. It's them again…

Just ignore them, Neji… Ignore themmm…. Again, knocking noises. This time, it's just the blonde girl. "Ehh, Hyuuga-sama, I think Hina-chan just fainted…"

"What?!" I yelled and stomped all the way to her room, seeing the blonde man panicking and the pink haired girl taking care of her.

"It's alright, Hyuuga-sama. I'm specially trained in the field of medics by Tsunade-sensei herself, so there's nothing to worry about," she said.

"I'll leave her to your care then. You two, leave."

"I have a name! It's Yamanaka Ino, maid and gift sho"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and don't forget it!"

Who wouldn't?

And there's more of them coming in the direction of my room.

"Food service," a raven haired guy pushing a cart said dully. I think I've seen him on TV. Along with him were a maid and that guy who gave me my luggage, and a few more guys.

I opened my door as each of them went in with an 'excuse me' and they checked everything. Probably room service and maintenance checks.

"Here's your… Hn. Hyuuga." I haven't heard that grunt in years; and trust me. I think he was as surprised as me.

"Hn. Uchiha."

* * *

TBC

**Just to let you guys know, I will be having an OC in this story, and some of my future multichapter stories, so please try to remember her if you plan to read more. Her info will be up on my profile in 1 or 2 days if you need or want to check it, or maybe go along with the description I give out in the story. Thanks for reading!**

**- kLk .**


	3. Day 1 Part II: Meet Tenten!

**A/N: hello~! Boredom has caused me to update, even though there was an insufficient amount of review. But, **

**Thank you,**

_**PurplePanda1010**_

**For being the only reviewer of the second chapter !!**

**

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**

**Chapter 3**

I can't believe it. Uchiha Sasuke, son of Uchiha Fugaku, the great Uchiha prodigy, working for _**me**_?!

"Mmpphhkkk…" I made a weird sound, trying to keep my laughter in.

"What?" Sasuke said. "Laugh all you want; I've got a good reason for working in this place."

"… you said it," I sighed. "… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Let's hear it, Uchiha!"

"Long story. Ran away, flew here to Rome, worked at Hotel Oto, which is a block away from this place-" he got cut off by me laughing yet again. He worked for that GAY-ASS PEDOPHILE?! "Yes, I worked for him, and got trained. Then I went to work here. I want my own business without any help from my family."

_Worked __**AND **__trained?! _Nice choice of teacher. NOT.

"Okay, I'm done. Who're these other people?" I asked, pointing to the group of people in my room. "And why do I recognize most of them?"

"They'll do the introductions later. And some of them are actually heirs of the best companies, so you may have seen them on magazines, newspapers, TV or whatever. They work here to be trained according to their business. OR maybe you've seen them in school before?"

"I see." I would've asked about _her_ if I could, if it wasn't for my dignity. And why are they here for, when they can go run their own companies?

"Hn, you should see the number of people lining up for a room or a job in here. It'll increase since you came," the Uchiha said. "Well, here's your food, Hyuuga."

"Uchiha, did you know I can fire you with that attitude?" I threatened. If he got fired, that would mean he'd have no choice but to be Orochimaru's sex toy again. I think he read my thoughts, seeing that horrible look on his face.

"Sorry, _Hyuuga-sama,_" he growled and left. What he didn't know was that was a joke.

* * *

"She's awake! That's great," Sakura said. At least it wasn't anything big that happened to Hinata or they're screwed.

"Thank you, Haruno-san. You can go back now," I ordered as she immediately ran out of the room. "Hinata-sama, are you alright?"

"Wh-what happened?" she asked. "I don't know; I wasn't here." But I think it was those two trying to irritate her.

"O-Oh. Where's N-Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"He went downstairs for some business," I lied. I think he's her friend, so I shouldn't tell her I kicked him out. But how could I avoid any of them since they're the people who'll be serving us every fucking day?

"Hyuuga-sama? Why is your door open?" a female voice echoed from the front of my room.

"I'll be right back," I told my cousin. Then I saw her again in her uniform consisting of a green pleated skirt, a white blouse with a tie and green vest with a K at the chest in white. She must have a different role in the hotel, since hers seemed much more different than the other girls' uniforms.

"You were calling me?" I asked. Once she heard me, she smiled and bowed politely, unlike the other employees. "I was just making sure my cousin was alright."

"Ah, I see. I just headed here to introduce myself and to give a message," she informed me. "I'm Tanaka Tenten, from the touring division. And during your stay I'll be at your service. And for Hinata-san too."

"Tenten. Nice name," I held out my hand for her to shake, which she took and shook. "Why's your uniform different from the others?"

"Oh, them? I'm in charge of a different department. The ones in the loli-style uniforms are the maids. I don't know why, but they've done it anyway. Black vests and pants are guys for the restaurant, food and room service, and black and white version of this is for girls. And red for shops and maintenance, I guess."

Shit, even this place is organized.

"What about those two blondes, Uzumaki and Yamanaka?" I asked. They might have something bad about them. Like JDs (Juvenile Delinquents) or something.

"Oh, them? Nah, they're just loud. And annoying sometimes. But add two more… it's chaos at times. Or Sasuke and Naruto together. You'll meet them all later," she answered. Oh, they're just nuisances.

"Where's your cousin?"

"In there."

"Hinata-san!" she approached Hinata. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tanaka Tenten, I'll be at your service during your stay. I hope we'll be friends!"

"T-Tanaka-san."

"Tenten will do."

"Tenten-san. N-Nice to meet you. How l-long have you been working here?"

"Hmm… A year or two, I think."

"Do you work to raise your f-family, or yourself?"

"Oh, I have no family, so I guess it's for myself. And don't apologize; I grew up in an orphanage and considered them as mine. And I guess I can count Naruto. I pretty much grew up with him."

"R-Really? What's he like?" Hinata seems very interested, hearing that idiot's name.

"Interested? He's single. And he's really stupid, but he's a good guy." I guess they're already friends. "Hey, wanna meet them? You need to know, since most of them are taking care f you guys too."

"S-Sure."

"…" I'll just follow them…

* * *

"Ne, ready for a game?"

"What for?"

"To tell you their names!"

"A-All right then," Hinata answered for both of us.

"So, who do you see, Hina-chan?" she asked.

"I see… a pineapple head and a chef," my cousin answered.

"Nara Shikamaru, the pineapple head, is really lazy. But, he's really smart, and that's why he's in charge of the money and accounting. Akimichi Chouji is the chef. He eats a lot, but makes up in cooking. Who do you see, Neji-kun?"

"A guy in shades and a guy with a… dog? What's a dog doing, working with him?" Odd. Aren't sunglasses and dogs not allowed for employees?

"The scary looking guy is Aburame Shino. He likes bugs, and he's quiet. But you know, he gives out pretty good advice. And the guy with the dog, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru. If you're wondering, Akamaru works too. He's a very skilled dog, and Kiba is another loud guy. Just like Naruto, except they argue sometimes, and could entertain the guests. Both of them are for luggage and cleaning, and sometimes at the restaurant."

"Who's that bowl cut guy? With another little bowl cut guy?" I asked. Clones, I tell you!

"Maito Gai is the older one, who is inand Rock Lee is the slightly shorter one. They're pretty odd, but they're in the same department as me. The looks scare the guests, but their enthusiasm attracts them. They're extreme… Always waking me up at 4 in the morning for a run around Rome for and hour. Who can do it that fast but them?! They care a lot about this place though. Devoted, as I would describe them."

"The black haired g-guy and the girl with the… h-headphones?" Hinata asked.

"You're probably asking how and why she can wear them. At max volume, it's amazing how she could still hear everyone perfectly. And about how, I have no idea, but she's a good worker. Name, Kurai Akumi. Her name doesn't suit her personality, but it describes her aura if she's pissed. She's either a performer, looks after the shop or a maid. Ishido Sai, he's… odd. But he's really good at drawing and painting. He's working for room service and for the resto."

"They're all v-very interesting," Hinata said. I agree with her; different people. And I heard all the whole staff was made of people all coming from Konoha, which explains the way the place is ran and decorated, and also the dishes.

"Oh, and I think you've met Ino, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto, right?" We nodded. "Ino and Sakura are maids; Sakura is also trained by Tsunade-sama in medical studies and management, and Ino runs the flower shop over there, since her family's business is flower arranging. Everyone knows about Uchiha. And Naruto was actually the son of the great Yondaime! He was the one that saved this hotel! And also, Naruto might run the international ramen restaurant, Ichiraku ramen, which also originates from Konoha."

"I-Ichiraku Ramen? I really like the ramen from there," Hinata confessed.

"Well at least you've got a topic to talk about, ne? Do you wanna eat dinner with him? He's on his lunch break right now!"

"U-Uhmm…" Hinata-sama started to turn red. "Since w-we haven't had d-dinner yet, why d-don't we go eat with th-them, nii-san?"

"I'm not hungry," I announced arrogantly, folding my arms across my chest childishly. I'm sure I wasn't, until my stomach growled.

It seems that the ridiculous sound that my empty stomach amuses them. She started giggling along with my cousin, who giggled after her. And for some odd reason, I started laughing along. I guess it's true when they say that laughing is contagious.

"Aw, come on. You need to eat too, you know! Let's go to Ichiraku."

* * *

We arrived at Ichiraku, which was just in the hotel. Lucky there was one branch here, since I'm getting tired.

"Naruto!" Tenten called. Oh, NOW I see him. You probably couldn't miss that hair.

"Tenten! Screw!" I was, yet again, annoyed by the ridiculous nickname. Was I the only one with a crappy nickname?! "And Hina-chan!" Cue Hinata blushing.

"We're here to eat, so don't ruin my appetite," I told him. He'd probably spit out that ramen on my face, and on my food.

"I know that! Why else would you be here?! Anyways, Hina-chan, why are you related to such an ASS?" he tried whispering loudly, intentionally making it loud enough for me to hear.

"Naruto! He's not mean! He gave me a seat in the bus, right?" Tenten said. "Even if it might be a little thing, at least it's nice, baka!"

"Well, it's true! You should've been there-"

"Idiot, shut the hell up!" I yelled. I was about to punch him when Tenten tried to restrain me.

"P-Please, stop the f-fighting…" Hinata whispered silently. "Someone m-might get hurt…"

"Aww, Hina-chan, you're so cute!" Naruto had a change of heart, seeing a girl close to crying, and hugged the hell out of her. And caused her to redden 'till she fainted. Again."Sorry then, Screw- I mean, Neji."

"Hn."

"Come on, Hina-chan, wake up!"

Eventually, she woke up so she could finish her food and was talking to Naruto.

"You have the cutest cousin ever! Do you have another one?" Tenten asked. Are you seriously asking me that? Sure, Hinata may be called cute, and so will Hanabi, but Hanabi is the opposite of the gentle and caring Hinata.

"Yes, but I don't think you want to meet her," I answered. "She might look cute, but she bites. And I mean it."

And so, we had a peaceful dinner at Ichiraku Ramen and separated to our own rooms. But somehow, I feel like we were being followed.

"_Ciao._"

I was excited for tomorrow, and the days following. Two weeks isn't that long… or is it?

* * *

TBC

**This chapter was used to introduce characters, and more will be coming, but that's a surprise!**

… **it was boring, wasn't it?**

**Yes, it was. But please, review!!! The story will get better as it progresses.**

**- M**


	4. Day 2 part I: Daily Life

**A/N: Sorry for not updating again after a few days! Blame my otouto for hogging it the whole time. BTW this is now in normal POV (until I say so~!)**

**Thanks to:**

_**PurplePanda1010**_

_Waterstar_

**For reviewing the previous chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The next day, Neji woke up at about 8 in the morning and found his rival serving him breakfast. _This is odd… I'd rather have someone else…_

"Don't look at it like it's poisoned. I don't poison people in this hotel," the Uchiha said.

"Is there more of you coming for a maintenance check?" Neji groaned, thinking that there would be more people to destroy his mornings everyday.

"No," the raven haired man replied. "Fortunately for them, they only come here twice a week, unlike me who gets to see you three or more times a day."

"Then let's not make it hell for us and just get the hell out."

"Hn."

"Coming through, coming through!" two voices said behind Sasuke yelled.

"Hey, I thought maintenance check was only for two times for a week," Neji said.

"Nah. They're here for cleaning. Good luck trying to bear the noise."

"Shut up, Sasuke. They can get quiet when they're working, those two," Akumi said, trying to bring in their equipment. "Get out or you'll make this room harder to clean."

"Hn. Fine." And the Uchiha finally got out of the door, pushing his food cart over to the next room.

"Just don't mind us, Hyuuga-sama," Sakura said, getting her vacuum cleaner.

"Neji is fine," he informed the three. "Don't force yourselves with the formality."

"Okay then, Neji," Ino said and looked around. "I saw you giving Tenten one of those _looks_ last night_._"

"Oh my god! Sakura, Ino is in her matchmaking mode again," the black haired girl warned and made sure the Hyuuga didn't hear. "Ino, we know it works, but not now!"

"Ino, do you WANT to get fired?" Sakura said. "I don't think-"

"No! I'm definitely sure they are!" Ino argued. "Don't you? And Neji, you like Tenten, correct?"

The other two did a facepalm and waited.

"No," he answered. "I hardly got to know her yet and- wait, how do you know about last night?"

"It's nothing! Right?" Akumi said. "It's not like we stalked you or anything-"

Sakura covered her mouth and tried to go out the door, pulling her along. "Ahaha. Sorry. I think she was just saying a verse from a song. Her headphones are getting in the way of her work. Excuse me, I'll have to work with her to the next room instead."

_Damn, Uchiha was right, _Neji sweatdropped.

"Anyways," Ino continued, and at the same time cleaning. "I won't tell her that you like her. That kills everything." It seems that she ignored his answer.

"I said no!"

"I can see it in your eyes. It's definitely a positive answer," the blonde said. "But I assure you. You two will be together before you leave this place! With no cost."

"You get paid?"

"No, I think of this as a hobby. I'll put you two on the top of my list."

Neji didn't even want to ask who the hell was on that list. She seems like the freaky type. _But I'll have to admit, she's a bit smarter than I expected and has a good taste for pairings- NO, NEJI! Don't make her predictions right!_

"Well, my job here is done, but remember what I told you."

"Right. I definitely doubt that," Neji said. _ Yeah, 'cause that's impossible. Not that I wouldn't mind._

Then, she left out the door, leaving Neji to get ready for the day.

* * *

"Ne! Hina-chan!" Sakura called.

"O-Oh! Hello there, S-Sakura-san, Akumi-san," Hinata greeted.

"Your cousin is boring," Akumi whispered.

"And we saw you four eating at Ichiraku last night. Yes, we stalked you. But not really. We were eating separately since your table was too small," Sakura admitted. "No point in lying since Akumi here told your cousin."

Hinata giggled. "Y-You should've come over then!"

"We didn't want to disturb you," the black haired girl said. "You like Naruto?"

The only reply they got was the Hyuuga blushing and smiling.

"We won't tell," Sakura assured. "I think he likes you too, since he called you cute. He even bragged about eating with you."

"And you know what he calls you behind your back?" Akumi asked. "_Kawaii Hina-chan._"

**BLUSH.**

_Na-Na-Naruto-kun c-calls me that?! _Hinata thought, blushing a million shades of red.

"Well, we have to go now, so see ya!" Sakura said.

"Ne, Hinata? You know you would look really good in loligoth style clothes," Akumi smiled. "We should all go shopping one time."

"Thank you," Hinata smiled back. "I will."

* * *

"Tenten! Tsunade-sama wants you to organize your trip tomorrow!"

"Alright! Naruto! What place should we go to first?"

"I think we should go to…"

Ah, the sounds of the staffroom… not so quiet, is it? Always full of chatter and everyone's busy.

And at the front door…

"LET US IN!!!" the fangirls (and fanboys) yelled. Luckily, this place was fully soundproof. "WE'VE GOT OUR APPLICATIONS!"

And high security.

"Shit," Kiba swore. "Why does it look like the numbers are growing?!" (I also forgot to mention they were sometimes for security with Gai and Lee! Sorry!)

"You said it," Shino, surprisingly spoke, pushing against the main entrance.

"You damn people need to get a life!" Kiba yelled to them. And the main rule for applying for a job here was that you mustn't stare at guests and co-workers in a fangirlish way. Tsunade decided this since this was the hotel most of them go to, to work and to stay at. And since you know that those fangirls are too stupid, they end up not getting a room booked or having a job there.

During job interviews, there is a certain test involved. Before all applicants enter, they go into a huge conference room (because of the number of people) with the current employees standing against the walls.

Then, they shove the famous Uchiha Sasuke to the front, showing everyone.

Lucky for Sasuke, he was shoved behind shatterproof glass in a separate room. Whoever squeals, drools or anything related to fangirling will be thrown out of the room by the other workers and the people left behind (which is a very small amount of people; about 5 out of 50 people as an estimate) will be interviewed, then eventually hired.

"Gai-sensei and Lee, get out of here and get the hell out and make sure they don't come within a mile close to this place," Kiba groaned. Usually when there are a lot of them, they have Gai and Lee get out of the 'secret entrance' (A window from the staff room or the lounge) and they perform their 'youthful' but creepy ways of being youthful, like doing their poses.

And the fans flee like hell, while the sane ones (the ones who come with valid reasons) stay and are permitted to enter.

But anyways, continuing the story. During lunch breaks…

"FOOD FIGHT!!!" Naruto yells throughout the employees' canteen.

"God, does this always have to happen everyday?!" Sakura screams while hiding under the table. "Sasuke-kun, hand me a dish with ravioli on it."

"According to the dobe, it does," Sasuke says, chucking a plateful of pasta on the male blonde's head. _Why ravioli?_

"Gah! So much food is wasted!" Chouji cries. "Don't waste my creations!"

"Just let them be. Or maybe eat the stuff before they throw it at something," Shikamaru suggests, walking out the door with his untouched tray. "Man, this is troublesome."

"Hey, Kiba," Akumi calls from behind.

"What is it now-" Kiba turns around and has his face smashed in some tiramisu. "Bitch! I'll get you back for this!" _Damn, I fall for this all the time!_

"Sorry, cake-san," the black haired girl runs off to find a hiding place. "Catch me if you can! I'll even bribe Akamaru to help me if I have to!"

"Ah! My hair!" Ino screams. "Who threw that?!"

"… I swear I was aiming at Naruto," Shino admitted, but gets chased by an angry Ino with a handful of sausages.

* * *

"So, who's in for tomorrow?" Tsunade asks her assistant, Shizune, who is also in charge of the bookings.

"It's a rather large group of 11," Shizune looked at the papers she printed out. "They'll be renting 6 rooms in the 23rd floor. They've also got a few… rather odd requests."

"Like what?"

"Have one room full of flowers, prepare meals with raw meat for another…"

"When will they be in?" the manager asked.

"They would be arriving in a week, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

TBC

**Just a sneak peek of the daily life.**

**A bit boring, but it will get better.**

**- M**


	5. Day 2 Part II, Tour I: Ancient Rome

**A/N: Sorry for not updating again after a few weeks! I finally finished the NAPLANs (some of you will know what I mean) and finished the dreaded two VERY EMBARASSING assignments aka. Oral presentations (but there are two more to finish! T_T)!!! Warning: Some (no, quite a few, actually)mentions of Ouran High School Host Club. (forgive me for that. I just had to put it in... just to be random.)**

**Thanks to the reviewers from chapter 4:**

_**XoTentenXgurlXo101**_

_Waterstar_

**Well, enjoy the chapter!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

"OI, WAKE UP YOU."

"Mmmhhhnnn..." A sleepy Hyuuga mumbled. "Not now, Tenten."

_What the hell?! Why Tenten...? And what is she doing in his dream anyway?! _The raven haired man thought with a frown. "Idiot, it's me. Unless you're saying I look like her, you've got serious problems." He pulled the sheets off the older man.

"Fuck off. Not now..." the sleepy one said, rolling the opposite side.

"Do you want to make her wait or what? It's Monday."

"Oh shi-" **THUMP. **The Hyuuga fell (face first) on the ground since his feet were tangled with the sheets, making the Uchiha burst out laughing. "Oh crap, you're such a loser!" he laughed and pointed.

"Get the hell out. Unless you're REALLY gay and want me to change clothes in front of you-" before he got to finish, the younger man had run out of the room, slamming the door in the process.

* * *

"He's late..." Hinata glanced at her silver watch, waiting with Tenten and Naruto outside of the building, next to the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder they were about to go on. A few minutes later, the older Hyuuga came running to the car. "Sorry I was late," he apologized.

"Thanks to you we're out of schedule!" Naruto yelled, causing Neji to seethe and control his anger around the two females.

"Never mind that, Naruto! Let's just all get in the car quickly!" Tenten shoved everyone in the car. (Tenten and Hinata were at the back seats, and Naruto and Neji were in front) Once everyone was in, Naruto quickly drove away, which caused the siblings to be pulled by the force of the car's speed and shocking them. "Sorry about Naruto. He's a bit extreme on the road, especially when we're late. But don't worry! The only times he's caused an accident was his first couple times!"

"At least it's not now," Neji muttered. "Just... start whatever you were going to do."

"Oh! Right. I'm on my shift," Tenten scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "Anyways, you guys probably already know it's like, 2000 years old and it was pretty eventful back then. It's really interesting; from the Renaissance to the Baroque and 'till now I guess..."

They arrived at their first stop, the world-known Colosseum. The three got off without Naruto, who was trying to find a parking spot. "Wow! I-It's better than they said it was. It's so b-big!" Hinata said in amazement.

"Yeah! What they do in this place, as their own sport and entertainment," Tenten said, taking them inside with a special pass. "They made gladiators fight against other people and animals, especially lions in front of the Roman empire; this place has a capacity of 50,000 or more viewers."

"T-To the death, h-huh?" Hinata frowned. "That's not very nice. It's not f-fair at all!"

"Well, you know what they say. When in Rome, do as the Romans do-err... never mind," Neji quoted.

"Neji?! You watch-" Tenten's eyes widened.

"Hanabi and Hinata-sama forced me to watch the damned shoujo anime, okay?!" Neji blushed and looked away. "That blonde idiot, not Naruto for once, is just so annoying! But the twins REALLY remind me of Uzumaki. If he had one, that would be hell."

"No he's not! He's funny, actually!" Tenten argued. "And someone else sort of acts like Naruto... just wait 'till you get to know them."

"Uhm, w-we made you, but y-you were so into it, N-Neji-nii-san," Hinata said, making Neji blush harder.

"Haha, don't worry. You aren't the only guy who got into it," Tenten teased. "Anyways, let's go around a bit more."

* * *

After what seemed like an hour, they got in the car once again and drove to another place. "Guess what, Naruto? Someone's an Ouran fan!" Tenten sang.

"Hinata-chan?!"

"Pretty much all of us in this car loves that show," Tenten answered, making Naruto almost get into the other lane.

"Say WHAT?!"

"Just please, move on to the next destination and talk about it after the trip!" the male Hyuuga pleaded.

"Fine, since we're almost there..." Naruto pouted, now fully focused on the road.

"Here, we have Foro Romano; this place has the biggest collection of Roman ruins," Tenten lectured. "Come on, let's go!" she pulled the two with her, leaving Naruto alone again.

"And this is why I hate being a chauffeur," he muttered to himself.

"Unfortunately, the structures couldn't be eternal, and not much is left after the times of the famous Roman emperors like Julius Cesar," the bun haired girl said. They were allowed to walk around and take pictures of the Curia (Senate house), the oldest structure on the site, and the temples.

_Hmm... Imagine if I was an emperor... _Neji thought. The hotel was suddenly turned all stone and everyone was wearing dresses and made him go 'WTF'. He saw himself being fanned and fed grapes by... Tenten?! He shook his head. _No! Never mind about that then..._

"Hm? N-Nii-san, why are you red?" Hinata asked.

"O-Oh, it's nothing... It's the summer heat getting to me," Neji lied, trying to get his handkerchief out to wipe his sweat. "Oh, we're supposed to go now...

* * *

After a few minutes, they arrived at the last destination for the day. "This place is 'Foro di Traiano' by Apolodoro of Damascus in 111 to 114 AD. This is one of the biggest forums in Rome," the female brunette explained. "And over here..." she brought them to a tall column.

"... is the Traiano column, standing a thousand feet tall, is one of the symbols of this place to recognize emperor Traiano's campaigns. There used to be a two story Market, two libraries, and the Ulpia Basilica. Feel free to look around," she said, grabbing her water bottle for a drink. "You're right, Neji, it IS hot."

"Told you," he said, getting his own drink after arriving with Hinata, who walked around the area with him.

"Well, let's go back," Tenten said.

* * *

Arriving at the hotel, they were welcomed by the rest of the staff. "Uchiha, get me some lasagne NOW please," the male Hyuuga didn't ask; he only orders you to do something.

Sasuke sighed. _Just like before..._ he thought. "Anything for you, Hinata-sama?" he twitched. It was compulsory to add –sama if you're serving in a prestigious hotel like this.

"Uhm, I'll get some of that too with g-garlic bread, please," Hinata stuttered.

"NARUTO! IT'S ON!!! In 4, 3-" a loud voice equal to Naruto yelled, followed with a dog's bark.

"DAMN-" Naruto ran as fast as he can to the staffroom in front of the TV along with everyone else to watch Ouran High School Host Club.

"See what I mean?" Tenten giggled as Neji rubbed his forehead soothingly. "Great..."

"Wanna come?" she asked the two cousins who shrugged.

"Sure," they both said, following their tour guide to the staff lounge room. They came in to hear most of them about to sing along to the opening theme song as the intro started.

_Hyuuga Neji, don't you DARE sing! ... KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE! Damn! _Neji resisted the urge to fight against his instinct to sing along to the catchy song.

"... suki ni natteku riyu wa minna..." the others sang.

Finally, he lost himself and just SANG.

"... MAYBE YOU'RE MY LOVE!!!" they all sang in unison. Yes, all of them. Shino, Sasuke and Shikamaru included, but they only sang reaaaally softly to themselves.

After the theme song, the guys start talking to Neji as the episode resumes. _At least I don't think I'm that weird anymore… _Neji chuckled to himself.

Yes, this is a beginning of a very chaotic relationship between Neji and the hotel staff.

* * *

TBC

**I just HAD to put Ouran in somewhere. Haven't watched the whole thing yet T.T**

**If I do, I'm making a fic, so watch out for an ad down here. Hope this wasn't too boring for you.**

… **Sorry if you don't understand, but those who do, good for you.**

**- M**


	6. Day 3, Tour II: Piazza Navona

**A/N: A huuuuuuuge apology to every reader. I realized that I haven't updated in over a year... I guess my mind left Italy, since we only studied it in '08. But thanks to constant reminders, I'm back on track and ready to update! I hope this brand new chapter will be more entertaining than it was a year (or two) ago!**

**Thank you to:**

_**XoTentenXgurlXo101**_

_**ChibiNinjaGirl**_

_**xchirix**_

_**=MenDouKusaiiiiiiii=**_

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_**Neji's POV**_

"Hey, douchebag, are you gonna get up, or are you risking to miss out on your fucking date?"

Date...? Pfft. You must be on drugs, Mr. Pothead.

"Ugh... Uchiha, I thought you were hired to serve me food, not to be my personal alarm clock..." I muttered and directed a half-lidded glare at Sasuke as I got off my bed. "Or are you here because you enjoy watching me sleep?"

"You wish, you gay fag," Sasuke retorted, then inclined to the food. Smells pretty good. "Eat up or else they would think I starved you or something."

"Yeah, some employee you are," I said sarcastically and reached for the mug filled with black coffee. No sugar, no milk, as I preferred. "Go back to your beloved pedophile."

"You mean yours?" the younger male grunted as he exited the door. "Enjoy your meal, loser." Sadly, he'll have to come back to reclaim his stupid tray, then back again if I wanted to eat in my room.

...looks like I'll be having dinner (and possibly lunch, if we're not on tour) at the restaurant on the third floor. If only someone different comes everyday. I get a sick feeling of being woken up to someone who loves to watch me sleep.

"_Good morning, Hyuuga-sama~!" Tenten wore a cute waitress outfit, carrying a tray full of food. Since when did my room sparkle?_

"_Oh, hello there, Tenten. Nice to see you in the morning." And since when did I go glittery?_

Wait.

Hold up.

And since when was _she_ in the food service department?

She's not supposed to call me so formally either!

...well, it definitely beats seeing Uchiha's horrifying face in the morning.

"Hey, teme! Respect the guests, remember?" a loud voice yelled from out in the hallway. Guess who.

"Hey, Screw! Ya ready for Rome?" Naruto came busting into my room while I had just finished preparing myself for the day. So much for respecting the guest, you hypocrite... Stop calling me Screw...

"Of course. Just get my cousin to get ready," I replied as I put on a jacket. "Just knock first, she might-"

Wow, he left already?

"-be in the middle of dressing up."

And so I prayed that he heard me.

_**End of Neji's POV**_

* * *

_**Hinata's POV**_

Nine fifty already? I just checked my wall clock after I took my shower... so I have only ten minutes to dress up!

I was only in my undergarments, trying to look for a suitable set of clothes for today.

No, not this one... which one should I choose?

"This one," I whispered to myself and picked out one of my knee length dresses. It was a pale blue color with lavender floral patterns among the background. It was also one of my favorites, as it was simple, yet pleasant.

I zipped the dress down, and wasn't halfway done when I heard my door open suddenly.

I looked behind me and instinctively tried to cover myself up.

"HINATA-CHAN, LET'S GO~!"

Oh no... it's Naruto-kun! I felt my cheeks heat up, and I could already imagine myself going bright red...

"A-Ah! U-Uhm...!" I stammered, shutting my eyes tightly.

"Shit!" I heard him swear. "I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE DON'T TELL ON ME!" he shut the door, begging from outside. "I'll get fired!"

I'll make sure he keeps his job... I wouldn't want to stop seeing him everyday, right? I fixed my dress and zipped it up.

_**End of Hinata's POV**_

_**

* * *

**_

Naruto's POV

OH.

MY.

_GOD._

Neji's gonna kill me.

Then the old hag will fire me.

I could see it now!

_NARUTO, YOU'RE FIRED! GET THE FRICK OUTTA HERE!_

_...oh, and also, your discounts at Ichiraku are OVER._

NOOOOOOOOO! MY PRECIOUS EMPLOYEE'S DISCOUNT!

"Shit," I managed to choke out and slammed the door immediately. "I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE DON'T TELL ON ME! I'll get fired!"

I love my discounts... SPARE ME, HINATA-CHAN!

I felt the back of the door open.

Looking up, there she was, as red as a tomato in her cute dress. I did not see her in her underwear... I did not see her in her underwear...

"...i-i-it's o-okay..." she stuttered more than usual. The pervy sage is getting to me...

THANK YOU!

And for once! You didn't faint or anything!

"Anyways, since you're ready, let's go downstairs!" I exclaimed as she proceeded to lock her door.

Please don't think I'm a pervert...

_**End of Naruto's POV**_

_**

* * *

**_

Normal POV

Naruto sped up to the car in the outdoor parking lot and started it up. He'll have to meet the other three in front of the hotel. Fixing up his uniform, he drove carefully to the main entrance to see Tenten waving at him.

"Looks like we're all ready!" Tenten said enthusiastically. "Now, everyone, in the car!"

Their seating was kept the same as the day before; Naruto at the driver's seat with Neji next to him as Tenten and Hinata sat at the back comfortably.

Neji waited until the two females struck their own conversation at the back.

"So, Naruto...you didn't... see anything, did you?" Neji asked in a serious tone while giving him this... look.

Naruto glanced quickly at him and started sweating.

The glare.

The very glare that nearly made him shit his pants.

"Uhhhhhhhhh..." the blonde tried to focus on the road.

But Neji was just too damn scary to ignore.

"...n-n-no...?" he stammered. _PLEASE __BELIEVE ME! DON'T LET THE GOOD DIE YOUNG!_

"...really?"

"I didn't, I swear!"

"...really, really?"

"I DIDN'T!"

The girls snapped their heads towards him. "Naruto, what's wrong?" Tenten asked.

"I'm FINE, Tenten! Just peachy!" the blue eyed driver replied as his eyes shifted from the side mirrors and the rear view mirror, then back to the windshield. "Ehh... don't distract the driver!"

"Sorry," the female brunette apologized and sunk back in her seat.

"...good," Neji said, settling in his seat. "That better be right."

...

"Really, really, really?"

"Nii-san, don't distract the driver..." Hinata looked down at her lap.

_**

* * *

**_

One car ride later...

"Well, guys, this is Piazza Navona!" Tenten declared, gesturing to the plaza. "Any questions before I start off?"

"This might sound really out of topic," Neji coughed. "But would you be able to request that different people should be serving my food everyday? Uchiha... really disturbs me to the point of-"

"Relax. Believe it or not, he likes to joke around," the female brunette laughed. "But I really find his humor... quite strange. He's a funny guy, but not exactly everyone thinks so. I'll arrange it later when we get back, okay?"

_I hope so, _the older Hyuuga thought. _Thank God._

"Formerly known as _Circus Ag__onalis,_ or in English, _Competition Arena_. The name eventually changed to _in agone _to _navone, _and finally, to _navona,_" Tenten explained as they walked. "The most recognized structure in Piazza Navona is _Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, _or the _Fountain of the Four__ Rivers _by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1651. Any questions so far?"

"It's a f-form of Baroque Roman architecture, isn't it?" Hinata asked. "It's b-beautiful..."

"You're right!" the tour guide gave her a grin. "There's more structures to be seen. Look over to the south, and there's _Fontana del Moro_ by Giacomo della Porta in 1575, then Bernini added a statue of a Moor wrestling with a dolphin..."

_The poor dolphin, _the Hyuuga heiress thought.

"And look over to the north, you'll see the _Fountain of Neptune _made by the same guy a year before the other," Tenten continued.

"Why is there another statue?" Neji pointed out.

"Antonio della Bitta added the other in 1878 just to make the fountain look more symmetrical with the southern fountain."

The two cousins were led around to see the other structures in the area: the 'speaking' statue of Pasquino, Palazzo Torres Massimo Lencelloti, Stabilimenti Spagnoli, Pallazo Braschi and Museo di Roma, the Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore, and Palazzo de Cupis.

"Okay, that's it for-" Tenten was cut off.

"Oi, Tenten!" a familiar, 'annoying' voice whined. "I'm hungry! Can we go now?"

"Naruto, who told you to get in here?" the female brunette glared at him, with her hands resting on either side of her waist. "You can get lunch whenever you want to! You've got more breaks than me! Well, no point in that now. We'll all have to get lunch together. Is that okay with you guys?"

"That's fine," the two cousins replied in unison.

"The old hag already told me off for getting lunch while the tour is on... just because I spent my own hard earned cash... I can spend my own money on what I want!" Naruto crossed his arms. "...okay, that, and I spent too much time eating and forgot about you and the customers. So what?"

"Forget it, let's just get back in the car..." Tenten gestured for the other three to follow.

* * *

"One Spaghetti Bolognese please..." Naruto sighed in defeat. "Why can't we go ramen today?"

"You mean like any other day?" Tenten whacked him on the head with a menu. "Give the tourists what they came for! Food!"

"Um... we don't mind if y-you choose where w-we should eat..." Hinata stuttered, looking down at her utensils. "You should a-also have a choice where to eat."

A catchy tune suddenly popped up. Someone's phone is ringing.

"Mm, ciao?" Tenten answered her cellphone while eating her garlic bread. "...why? ...calm down, Kiba, geez. We'll be right there. See ya."

"What's up this time?" the blonde asked, clutching his fork.

"We need to be there as soon as possible," she replied. "Eat fast, it's an emergency."

"That, I can do," Naruto nodded, slurping his pasta as fast as he could.

"Sorry to trouble you guys, but we have to get back," Tenten apologized to the two Hyuugas. We'll continue tomorrow, and I'll make it up to you. Promise."

_**

* * *

**_

Yet another car ride later...

"See you guys tomorrow," Naruto waved as they got out of the carpark. "Me and Tenten-"

"Tenten and I," Neji corrected, making the blonde roll his eyes.

"Whatever. Tenten and _I _are going to an have a meeting with the manager," Naruto said.

"Neji," Tenten called out, making him turn around. "About that request earlier, I'll talk to Tsunade about it, okay?"

"...alright," the male Hyuuga nodded.

_**

* * *

**_

With the staff...

"Tsunade-sama, they're here!"

"What took you guys so long...?" Tsunade sat at her desk, massaging her forehead. "Come in quick, you two. Lots of work and preparation must be done."

"Okay, okay, let's get straight to the point," Naruto said, sitting down beside Tenten. "Why'd you call us back so quickly?"

"Remember when I told you guys about how some people called up asking for a massive reservation? And not to mention, those really weird requests..." the manager asked. "I told you they were arriving in a week."

"Yeah. The Akatsuki, right? On their world tour," Tenten nodded eagerly. "What about them?"

"They called up again," Tsunade replied. "They decided to arrive in two days instead of a week. If we're not prepared, they'll be heading to Orochimaru's. That's less likely, since they used to work together... But we still have to work towards that, of course."

"That means everyone will be working all day for two days, right?" Tenten sighed.

"Correct," the blonde haired woman nodded. "Have you got anything to ask?"

"...Neji wants other people to serve him food," the brunette said. "Something about being mentally disturbed about Sasuke showing up everyday..."

"Hm. Very well then. Since everyone's on a tight schedule, why don't you do it for two days? You're in charge of him anyways. Why not change your job for once?" Tsunade suggested. "Two days only. All you have to do is show up every morning while pushing a cart of food, then go again to take it back. Easy, right?"

"Teme would be busy, and I know you can do a better job," Naruto nudged Tenten with a laugh.

* * *

TBC

**Hope that wasn't too bad for my return. I got jetlagged, minus a plane trip.**

**Please review so I can make sure that people still actually read this xD**

**~ miacchi**


	7. Day 4: Surprise!

**A/N: I'm super duper happy with the reviews I've received for chapter 6. I appreciate all the subscribing and faving too! Please read more notes at the end of the chapter.**

**Thanks to the reviewers from last chapter: **

**_Midnight Insomniac - wow, really? I want to go to Italy too~ To be honest, I have never been there, though it's my dream to go on a Eurotrip :D_**

**_ZzBlack NightzZ - yes, I have finished watching Ouran a long time ago... I loved it, but I think the manga's better xD_**

**_ChocolateAngel-san - this story will not go discontinued! I promise that! _**

**_ChibiNinjaGirl - I swear this was the fatest I could update! Thanks :)_**

**_Rixclassa - glad you're excited about this chapter!_**

**Everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really do.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 7**

**Day 4, July 7, Wednesday, 8 : 05 AM**

Quiet footsteps, the sound of a rolling cart and the door shutting gently are heard.

Except the room's sleeping occupant, of course.

_**Flashback**_

_"Hm. Very well then. Since everyone's on a tight schedule, why don't you do it for two days? You're in charge of him anyways. Why not change your job for once?" Tsunade suggested. "Two days only. All you have to do is show up every morning while pushing a cart of food, then go again to take it back. Easy, right?"_

_"Teme would be busy, and I know you can do a better job," Naruto nudged Tenten with a laugh._

"_What?" Tenten yelled. "Why is it just me? Out of all the people that work here..."_

"_You're the one who he's most familiar with, aren't you?" the older woman asked. "Meaning he's most comfortable with you instead of Sasuke. Get it?"_

"_What about Naruto?" the brunette glanced at the blonde male._

"_I've got a lot of driving to do!" Naruto yelled. "And you've got a lot of time since tours are cancelled for two days!"_

"_Thanks a lot," Tenten sighed._

_**End of Flashback**_

"Aah, still asleep," Tenten whispered to herself and sighed. "I was a bit late for this too..." _I thought he was more of a morning person. And no wonder Sasuke takes so much time with his job. I better wake this guy up..._

"Um. Wake up?" she said in an unsure tone and reluctantly shook Neji. "Hey, it's already 8 in the morning..."

"Guh... fuck off, Uchiha," Neji groaned, rolling over and hiding under the covers. "What happened to your voice?"

"Excuse me?"

"Excuse you, you son of a-" the white eyed male grunted and sat up, opening his eyes to see Tenten narrowing her eyes at him. "What the...?" And with that, our favorite Hyuuga prodigy fell off on the other side of his bed from backing up too much.

"Ohmygod, are you okay?" the female brunette immediately rushed to his side, noticing that he landed head first. "Sorry! Do you need some ice?"

"I'm fine. What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Neji rubbed the back of his head.

"Don't you remember your request from yesterday?" Tenten asked.

"Yes," the Hyuuga replied and got up. "...since when did you-?"

Tenten looked over to the side with a sheepish look on her face. "Since I brought it up, and the rest of the employees are just too damn busy, she suggested that I would do it. And bad news, me and Naruto won't be able to go around with you and Hinata-chan for... maybe two days."

He gave her a puzzled look. "What's happening?"

"Oh, right. I sort of forgot to tell you," she laughed nervously. "A group of clients rebooked. So they went from a week to two days. Now everyone's panicking and preparing for that group. And trust me, they'll need a lot of time and effort. Those guys even threatened that they would go to Oto instead. They're lying, and we know it."

"And who would be those people?"

"The band, Akatsuki. They're pretty big, and if they DID go here, that would be enough advertising for the hotel. And Sasuke's been more... well, let's just say he's PMSing lately since he heard that they're coming sooner."

_Oh, right. He's got something against his older brother, Itachi, who's in that band... _Neji thought and sat on his bed. _But doesn't he always PMS anyways?_

"And there's waaaay too many reasons that they're never going to Hotel Oto," Tenten stood up from where she was sitting. "Firstly, they're too much against Orochimaru. Let's just say they've got too much from the past. Secondly, they were recommended. Third, they've got too many family relations from this place to miss out."

"Family relations? I thought Uchiha was the only one..."

"Well-" she was interrupted by a ringtone. "Oh, right! Eat your breakfast, I'll be back in an hour to clean! Sorry that we're busy. Just call if you need anything! Check your cellphone at about lunch time for a message, okay?"

"Sure," the Hyuuga nodded and went over to where the food was placed. "Oh, and Tenten?"

The bun haired woman looked back at him as she opened the door. "Yeah?"

"Nice uniform," he smirked, seeing her cringe and pull her skirt down just to make the dress seem longer. "So they even made you wear the maids' uniform too?"

"Neji," she said, calming down.

"Hm?"

"Nice penguin pyjamas."

* * *

**_Location: Unknown._**

"...and Itachi, don't you think moving the date was a bit too much?" a blue skinned man finished his five minute rant, not even noticing that his best friend was missing.

"Kisame. Have you ever noticed that he left a minute ago with Katana?" a redhead said dryly, packing one of his favorite puppets into his luggage bag.

"And Pein, how could you even allow that?"

"Hm, and Pein has left with Konan-chan at about the same time, un," a man with (fabulously) long blonde hair added and looked through familiar yellow containers. "Damn, we're out of Play-Doh!"

Sasori narrowed his half-lidded brown eyes at Deidara. "You do know that no one gives a dead rat's ass about your goddamn Play-Doh."

"Don't EVER diss the Doh!"

**Tackle.**

"Senpai, calm down!" a man with an orange mask held the blonde back.

"LET THE ASSHOLES FUCKING FIGHT!" a shirtless guy with slicked back silver hair yelled as he continuously slit his skin with a razor. "KAKUZU, you bastard, damn you for hiding all the fucking knives! Why do you have to be such a bitch for!"

"Your welcome, moron," an older man glared at him. "So. For the 9th time, place your bets. Start at a hundred."

"Two hundred on blondie," a man with a face painted black and white brought out two paper bills. "No, wait. On pinocchio."

"MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MIND!"

"Have fun," Kisame rolled his eyes and stood up, walking over to his aquarium. "Am I the only sane one present?"

He placed his hand on the glass and spotted a goldfish. "Hey, Fred, I'm back. Everyone's being idiots again..." he muttered. "Sometimes, I think you're my only friend."

* * *

**_Back at the hotel..._**

"Hinata-sama. Let's go for some lunch."

"A-Alright, I am kind of h-hungry..."

The cousins went over to the hotel's restaurant. They were met by Kurenai, who was at the door. "Oh, good afternoon," she greeted. "My apologies, the restaurant is closed for the day..."

"It's alright," Hinata gave her a smile. "W-We'll just go and eat out."

Just when they were heading out...

_**You have mail!**_

_Surprise birthday party for Kiba at the 3rd floor restaurant, 6.30pm to prepare. Buy a present if you have time. Don't get lost, okay? :D See you and Hinata-chan later!_

_Tenten ^_^_

_P.S. Resto's closed! Sorry!_

_Thanks for the late warning, _Neji thought sarcastically. "...up for pizza?"

* * *

**6 : 30 PM**

"Do I really have to?" Akumi was currently on a phone call and had no headphones on, for once. Everyone else was getting ready for the surprise party. _This is what I get for rolling a number below 6...?_

"I already explained my plan to Akamaru!" Naruto said. "But... I don't know if he understood me..."

"Of course he'd understand you!" Ino smacked him on the head. "The dog understands everyone!"

Akumi sighed heavily and hung up anyways. Hiding behind a wall, she peeked past it to see Kiba having his private bitchfest with Akamaru right behind. Luckily, his back was facing her.

She tiptoed silently and poked Akamaru, who turned to her and nodded, running ahead. Unfortunately for Akumi, she wasn't exactly a physically gifted person, so she had to walk fast instead.

"-Akamaru, don't you agree?" Kiba asked, turning around. "Shit! AKAMARU!" Running to the source of footsteps that he just noticed, he saw his dog running, along with a black haired girl.

_Well, that took a while. Sometimes, I wish I could actually run, _she thought.

"Bitch, give me back my dog!" the brown haired male yelled in the hallway, catching up _very _quickly. After all, he was the one who could run pretty fast.

"If you... can catch up!" Akumi yelled back and walked faster. _Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this! I'm at my limit already!_

"Give it up, I'm right behind you!" they stopped at the restaurant door. It was dark inside.

"Akamaru, go ahead..." she panted and leaned against the door. "Get in and get your dog back... geez."

"You're really gonna get it after," Kiba glared at her before opening the door.

"SUPRISE!"

"Holy shit!" Birthday boy jumped in surprise.

Akumi tiredly crawled in and lied down on the floor. "Ugh. This better be worth it for your birthday."

"That was for the team," Sakura offered a hand. "Let's go and get you some coffee for your efforts."

The black haired female grabbed her hand and stood up. "Now that's more like it. Oh yeah. Happy birthday, dog boy." She tossed a package at him. Most specifically, straight at his head.

"Thanks for the party and all, but like, why did you guys dump all your work on me today?" Kiba growled. "That was not cool."

"You think we actually had free time to set all this up?" Shikamaru asked. "No. We don't."

"It's a cover for the party too," Chouji added as he munched on some finger food. "We can't have you finding out if this is supposed to be a surprise party."

* * *

"Time to open your presents!" Sakura exclaimed. "Open the red one first!"

"No! The orange oooooneeee!"

"How about the one with the white bow?"

_I can pick for myself, thank you, _the dog lover sweatdropped at the number of people arguing. He picked a simple navy blue box with a silk bow on it. Upon opening it, he saw a note inside, along with a plain silver chain to wear on his neck. _Happy 20th birthday, Kiba! From, Hinata : )_

"Hey, Hinata. Thanks," Kiba gave her a one armed hug, making her go a bit red. This action made Neji, being the overprotective cousin, want to glare at him. Though everyone would shake their heads at him for making the birthday boy get scared. Or cry like a baby.

After minutes of opening numerous amounts of presents from everyone (mostly co-workers), he got up in front of everyone for his super special thank you speech.

"To whoever gave me clothes as a present, thanks, they look pretty awesome. Now I don't have to go shopping for a loooong time. The bags... would probably get worn out quickly, sorry. To those who gave me money, thanks a lot, suckers, you just wasted your hard-earned cash," he said jokingly and snickered as everyone laughed. "Naruto, give me something different. Ramen coupons would eventually go back to you anyways."

"Well, sorry, you bastard!" Naruto yelled. "Your fucking welcome!"

"And the watches... digital watches are fine, but whoever gave me analogue watches, get me a digital one next time," Kiba stuck his tongue out. "Jiraiya, I appreciate your 'secret passage'. Hmm... Books? Does it look like I read? Comics and video games are much more like it, to be honest," he shrugged, then sighed, directing a glare at a certain black haired girl. "Very funny. A dog collar and perfume for me. Are you implying something?"

"Maybe," Akumi resisted the urge to burst out laughing. "Hey, be thankful I even got you something!"

"Bitch," the brunette muttered under his breath. "Anyways, thanks again, guys! And don't you dare make me clean up again!"

"Don't worry, we won't," Tsunade chuckled. "Restaurant's staff would be in charge of that. Everyone, we have one day left, so begin work immediately tomorrow! Night shift, keep working."

* * *

TBC

**1. Sorry there wasn't too much of Tenten and Neji.**

**2. Sorry my OC, Akumi, had so much appearance time, or generally sorry for having my OC star in this fanfiction. I know majority of the fandom community do not like OCs used in fanfiction, especially if they're paired up with a character. I also happen to know that some may think that most OCs are Mary Sues, which nearly everyone (or is it actually everyone?) hates. _Please do NOT hate her, _I specifically made her to be amusing, and an add to the cast. And I know that she is not a Mary Sue.**

**3. Sorry that Kiba's birthday just happened to be 4 days away from Neji's, and is within Neji's tour time.**

**4. 'Katana' is not my OC. She is ChibiNinjaGirl's Original Character. And Katana is also Itachi's girlfriend. And she will be having some appearances in the future.**

**I hope everyone found this chapter alright.**

**~ miacchi**


	8. Day 5: Party?

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was sort of having short-term writers block there. Just to let everyone know, I may not be able to update for a two-week period or longer, because this term at school is the busiest out of ALL. And I have about 5 or more assignments due within two weeks, and I haven't started yet (because I am a procrastinator).**

**Thanks to the reviewers: **

**_Midnight Insomniac_**

**_ZzBlack NightzZ_**

**_Sasutenfan_**

**_ChibiNinjaGirl_**

**Now. Enoy a (fun-filled) FILLER chapter. The real stuff starts next chapter.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8**

_**Day 5, July 8, Thursday, 8 : 30 AM**_

_Great! Now I'm REALLY late! I knew I should have slept earlier! _Tenten was hastening her footsteps, and at the same time, trying to keep the cart wheels quiet. _Shit, I hope he has nothing important on today, or I'm really gonna get it!_

She took a deep breath before opening the door and entering. Her eyes laid on the male Hyuuga, sleeping peacefully like a baby, unlike yesterday. The day before, he looked like he was wrestling the sheets all night. This morning, he is perfectly still, as if he's not breathing.

...

He _is _breathing, right?

Tenten walked up to his bed and looked closer. Upon seeing him inhale softly, she sighed in relief. _He's not dead! Yay!_

"Neji, wake up!" she whispered and poked him on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late!"

Opening his eyes slowly, he blinked multiple times. "Huh? Tenten?" he mumbled and sat up. "What time is it...?"

"Uhh... 8:30?" she replied with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry. I slept in too much. I guess I was still a bit tired from the party last night."

"It's okay," Neji nodded and looked at the tray. "What's for breakfast today?"

The lid was removed, and there it was. "Bacon, eggs and toast, plus black coffee," she answered with a grin. "Hope you like it!"

"I will, thanks."

Tenten looked at the wall clock. "Crap, I _am _late!" she exclaimed. "Um, I'll come back later, okay? So sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," he chuckled as she went out the door immediately.

* * *

_[...Right, Roman numerals, the same ones that she saw on clocks and whatnot everyday– V and I, obviously, and C, M, D, X and L... she should have figured it out when she saw three I's next to each other– it wasn't three I's, but III. But there had been an L right after them, and she had connected that with the detective's name and distracted herself...](1)_

Pearly eyes were reading along the lines of a mystery novel in silence as he leaned comfortably on his headboard and pillows. A very relaxing summer day in Italy, as he would describe the 8th of July in Rome.

...until unexpected guests walked into the room uninvited.

Looking up to see who intruded the peace, he saw the same people from two or three days ago. Pink, black and blonde haired girls entered the room with their equipment.

"Cleaning," Neji mumbled to himself, remembering who they were, and why.

As if they were surprised, they jumped a bit. "What? I thought you were out," Ino said, taking out some sheets and pillow cases. "You usually are, by this time of the day, aren't you?"

"...we forgot you wouldn't be going around for two days," Sakura laughed nervously. "Is this a bad time?"

"Oh, no. Go ahead," he said, placing a bookmark in before closing his book and getting off his bed. _Good thing I changed out of my pyjamas earlier, or it would be more embarrassing._

"Okay, cool," Akumi nodded and held a steam vacuum. "Don't worry, Neji, you'll be going again... tomorrow, I think."

"Sorry for intruding," a deep voice came, and there were two more people in the room. "Maintenance check. It's Thursday."

Ino looked up. "Hey, I thought it was on Sundays and Wednesdays!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on either side of her waist.

"They changed it two days ago. Now, maintenance check is on Mondays and Thursdays," Shino informed, pushing up his black glasses. "Please move aside."

"We're still cleaning, and we just got here a second ago," Sakura frowned. "Can't you guys wait until we're finished?"

"Sorry, Sakura," Kiba shrugged as Akamaru barked in agreement. "Sorry, but this is the only time we've got! Everyone's busy, and we have to do this too! Lots of rooms to clean, you know!"

"Oh, come on! We're about to mop and vacuum, then you guys march in with your shoes!" the blonde argued. "It won't take that long!"

"Maintenance check only takes about ten minutes," Shino said calmly. "And cleaning takes twenty minutes extra. It's only correct to let the faster job go ahead first."

"Shino, it doesn't take us thirty minutes to clean up," Akumi responded. "With the three of us, we can clean for ten minutes, same as you guys. Ladies first, remember?"

"..."

"You guys aren't ladies," Kiba scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Big mistake.

After seconds of realizing his mistakes, he noticed that the girls already started bursting into expletives. Which he stupidly countered.

"Guys, can't you just-" Neji just gave up on trying to tell them off for now. It was getting kind of interesting anyways.

"Whoa, what's with the noise?" yet ANOTHER innocent civilian approaching the war zone.

The door opened to reveal Naruto, who looked confused. "Hey, is there a party going on here that I didn't know about?" he asked. "Where's all the refreshments? A party's not a party without refreshments!"

"Naruto, there _is _no party," Neji sighed.

"What? I can't hear you!" the blonde idiot (male) yelled as he went inside, looking around as if there wasn't some sort of big argument near the doorway.

"Dobe, you still have a lot of work to do downstairs!" Oh _no. _Not again.

Sasuke stood in the doorway with a pot plant in hand, for some weird reason. Then he started chasing Naruto around the large room, trying to get him to be dragged back down to work.

"But there's a party!"

"You can go later if there IS one," the raven haired man gritted his teeth. "But there is absolutely no party in this room, you moron."

"What... is going on here?" a bun haired brunette open the door widely, with Hinata standing beside her, fidgeting. "I leave for a few hours and this is what happens? Someone please explain..."

She was only greeted with more arguing.

"You idiots are hopeless..." she facepalmed.

"Let me explain," Neji muttered. "Haruno, Yamanaka and Kurai were here for their daily cleaning. Soon after that, Aburame, Inuzuka and his dog went over for maintenance check, which was rescheduled from Sundays and Wednesdays to Mondays and Thursdays. They started fighting over who should do their job first. Uzumaki came, thinking that there was some sort of party, and Uchiha was about to drag him off to work again."

"Thank you, Neji," Tenten sighed heavily. "Okay. Just to save all the time you guys wasted, cleaning and maintenance, go at the same time. Just swap sides after five. Naruto, there never was a party here. You better get downstairs or Iruka won't treat you to ramen anymore. Sasuke, just get back to what you were doing before you came here..."

She then went over to the food cart from earlier and pushed it out the door. _Seriously... to think they could talk it out as adults at this point..._

_

* * *

_

"Nii-san, are you alright?" Hinata asked, peeking into the room. After about ten to twenty minutes earlier, everyone has already left. "It s-sure was noisy in here a while ago... I was w-worrying."

"I think my mind is still intact," the older Hyuuga murmured. "I hope so."

* * *

TBC

(1) 100+ points to whoever guesses where this book excerpt is from. Another 100 for the author.

**Again, sorry for having a school life.**

**Look forward to THE PLOT, which has yet to arrive.**

**Expect an update in maybe two weeks? _**

**~ miacchi**


	9. Day 6 Part I: The Akatsuki Enters

**A/N: Sorry for the two weeks off. My future lies with my decision... for subjects. Three of my top AND backup choices were not offered to me. Art, Modern History and Ancient History. The bastards... now I have to take something totally out of my career path: ITALIAN. Just when I've already started this story... I may rewrite in the future if I get Italian..**

**Thanks to: **

**_mwto_**

**_ChibiNinjaGirl_**

**_Midnight Insomniac_**

**Enjoy, kiddies.**

**

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**

**Chapter 9**

_**Day 6, July 9, Friday**_, **_7 : 55 AM_**

Cue every member of the staff (well, nearly everyone anyway) panicking and shitting their pants off. People were constantly running around with silent footsteps, trying not to disturb their customers, who might still be sleeping.

But with all the commotion going on, some have already woken up. Including Neji and Hinata, of course.

The older Hyuuga was relieved that, for once, he wasn't woken up in surprise, and that he didn't feel the need to eat for now. He decided to go to the lobby with his cousin to see how everyone was... handling the situation at hand.

This.

WAS.

**THE DAY. **

This was the day that employees have been working hard for. They were given maybe... a week, until they called and re-booked, giving them two days to rush around. And in under five minutes, their effort will finally be recognized.

In one minute, the workers tried to look more tidy, and more presentable. Thanks to their past training, they have obviously achieved that.

Everyone looked neat, as if they never worked their asses off in the last 24 hours.

The clocks, the wristwatches, and the clocks on their mobile phones.

They were looking at the time, watching for the big **8 : 00 : 00 AM.**

**

* * *

**

**7 : 58 : 55 AM**

Dark cloaked figures started to approach the front steps. They were tall, and obviously had their signature cloaks: Black and red, with a small amount of white outlining the red clouds.

* * *

**7 : 59 : 50 AM**

They drew closer to the revolving door, and some moved from their frozen states to turn their heads and stare. Some even went back to acting natural, but were also looking through to see the newcomers.

* * *

**8 : 00 : 00 AM**

The whole group made it into the building, and were earning stares, which they mostly ignored. Bags were being brought everywhere, like they were moving in. They looked so... unapproachable.

"Welcome-"

"WE'VE ARRIVED, BITCHES!" one with the slicked back hair yelled. Eyes widened and averted their gazes.

"Hidan, don't scare them," a woman with blue hair and a white paper rose in her hair spoke. "Do you want us to be banned here too?"

"I blame you if they sue us," a seemingly old man said, glaring at Hidan. "You know how much we have to spend for all the shit you've done?"

"Woooooow, this place looks cool!" this person had an orange swirly mask and acted quite childishly. "Senpai! Let's go buy candy!"

"Ugh... no way, Tobi," a... man with long (feminine) blonde hair frowned deeply and glared at him. "Pein, just go over to the desk so we can go claim our rooms..."

"Too late, he already did," Sasori pointed at the orange haired man, who was already on his way back with everyone's keys.

"The 24th floor," Pein said bluntly and gave the keys to hisfriends, who had already decided who they would be sharing a room with. But in some cases, a few were sort of forced. "Let's go."

_Twenty-fourth floor? Like, a floor below us? Well, fuck, _Neji thought, hearing their conversation as the group passed by. _The rooms better be soundproof... I can already imagine what's going to happen..._

_

* * *

_

**12 : 13 PM**, **3rd floor Restaurant**

"May I order... Bruschetta and a dish of Lasagne... ?" Neji read, pointing to the menu.

Shino was serving them today. He nodded silently and wrote quickly on his notepad. "What drink would you prefer? Wine?"

"No wine. Coffee, the usual, please."

"And as for Hinata?" Shino himself was told by the Hyuuga heiress to refer to her with her first name. "What would you like to have today?"

"Umm... Some Ciriola and Risi e bisi, p-please," Hinata stuttered. "And a-as for the drink... w-water will be fine, thank you..."

"Alright. Menus, please," Shino claimed the menus and pushed up his glasses with one hand. "Your Bruschetta and Ciriola, along with your drinks, will be arriving in approximately five minutes. Please wait patiently." And with that, he walked off to the kitchen doors.

* * *

_**At the other side of the restaurant...**_

"Good tasting Risotto. I like it," Itachi said, wiping his mouth politely.

"Mm! And the Radicchio salad is really yummy!" Katana smiled as she finished her salad. "The gelato is coming!"

"And we're sharing it, aren't we?" the black haired male had a teasing tone to his voice. Then he gave her a peck on the lips, making her blush. This pretty much lead to the couple ignoring their friends.

"Those two are so..." Hidan cringed at the couple.

"Oh, just leave them," Konan rolled her eyes. "You're probably just jealous."

"You're fucking hilarious."

"Everyone, just... finish your food, then we'll get back to business," Pein muttered, rubbing his forehead. "It's like you guys never take things seriously."

"So... Lovey-dovey couple, a masochistic vulgar-mouthed asshole, an old cheapskate, a... I don't know what the hell Zetsu is, some guy who doesn't know what REAL art is, un, a guy who's **really **annoying to the point of making me want to commit suicide, a weirdo shark guy, a dude with helluva lot of piercings and a chick who's so into origami," Deidara listed, crossing his arms.

"You forgot one," Sasori added. "The sorry excuse for a cross dresser."

"Not again, guys," Konan muttered, getting in between them.

* * *

"That group was really... loud," the male Hyuuga said, after finishing his lunch and paying. "Unusual too..."

"Well, sorry, man, but we all have to sort of put up with them," Kiba scratched his head. "We don't want to get sued again, and we don't want less customers either. They'll be staying for a week, so yeah."

"It's alright," Hinata nodded and smiled at him. "We don't mind at all."

"Oh, and by the way, Neji," the younger male added. "Tenten said you guys are back on tour tomorrow, unless you contact her and cancel. But knowing you, why _would _you cancel?"

_Not again, _Neji inwardly groaned. "That's fine," he nodded just as Kiba walked off. "Just tell her to drop by the 25th floor."

_Where is she today anyways? _he wondered. _Haven't seen her in a while._

"I take it you're looking for Tenten-san?" a voice asked from behind. Neji nearly jumped on the spot in surprise. "You must be Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata!"

A guy with black hair in a bowl cut, green and white uniform, round eyes and... _really thick eyebrows._ This must be Rock Lee, one of the guys that Tenten was working with.

"Err, not really," Neji muttered in response. "And yes, that's my name. Do you need anything?"

"N-Nice to meet you," Hinata greeted.

"A great honor to meet you two!" Lee grinned widely. Did his teeth just sparkle? "Oh, there's also someone I want you to meet!"

Before the two cousins could say anything, a taller (and older) man with slightly tanner skin and different shaped eyes in addition to _**EVEN THICKER EYEBROWS **_appeared before them. Maito Gai.

"This is Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed. "Isn't he cool?"

"...g-good afternoon," was all that poor little Hinata could say. Guess she was a bit _too _overwhelmed by massive eyebrow attacks or something.

Gai **winked **at the Hyuugas. "Neji, Hinata! You two are looking **extremely **_**YOUTHFUL **_today!"

_...cool indeed._

_

* * *

_

TBC

**Hope you guys liked that chapter. :D**

**Also wishing for some reviews and feedback. Gai and Lee are _lovely, _aren't they? :3**

**I'm feeling extremely youthful today, so everyone gets a free cyber pizza.**

**~ miacchi**


	10. Day 6 Part II: Piazza di Spagna

**A/N: Ohyay, it's the story's TENTH chapter. Party time. In advance, apologies about this chapter's crap factor. I've suffered the writers block once again, and I fought hard just to bring this chapter. I hope it's not as bad as I think. I just HAD to post something...**

**Thanks to the reviewers:**

**_Durn_**

**_Rixclassa_**

**_Midnight Insomniac_**

**_mwto_**

**_ChibiNinjaGirl_**

**Yay for lots of reviews from last chapter.

* * *

**

**Chapter 10**

_**Day 6, July 9, Friday, 1 : 15 PM**_

"E-Extremely youthful...?" Hinata squeaked. "Uhm... th-thank you..."

_Oh god, what's wrong with them besides their appearance and their... over-enthusiasm...? _Neji's eye twitched.

"Ah! We've never quite welcomed you properly, have we?" Gai laughed. "As an apology AND a welcoming gift, we present you..."

"With these!" the two... _clones _exclaimed loudly and reached for their backs, quickly bringing out...

**HORRIFYING.**

**GREEN.**

**SPANDEX.**

**SUITS.**

Gai and Lee shoved those _things _in their arms. "Surely, you'll look more YOUTHFUL in these!" Lee grinned at them, earning him blank stares.

_You have GOT to be kidding me, _Neji stared at the suit and quickly dropped it on the floor in disgust. "No thanks."

"OOH, but you MUST!" the older black haired man picked it back up and once again, shoved it in his arms. "Are you worried about the size? No worries! They stretch!"

"The Hyuugas are allergic to the material, that's why," a feminine voice defended from behind.

The men in green turned around. "Tenten! You're here!"

The said brunette claimed the spandex suits from the cousins' arms and gave them back to her colleagues. "Sorry, Lee, Gai-sensei," she said. "Guess you'll have to give that to someone else!"

"It's okay, Neji, Hinata!" Gai sobbed. "Even though you might get deprived of your youthful days in spandex, you can still be as youthful as you want, as long as you BELIEEEEEVE IN YOURSELFFFF!"

"Gai-sensei, that is so TOUCHING!" his student cried.

"Oh, not again," Tenten shook her head and led the Hyuugas away.

"LEEEEEEEE!"

"GAI-SENSEEEEEEIIII!

"**LEEEEEEEEEE!"**

"**GAIIII-SENSEEEEEEIIII!"**

Cue the hugging, plus the usual sunset-on-the-beach scene here. Where that came from, nobody knows.

The power of youth, maybe?

...nah.

"Eh, they tend to do that a lot," the bun haired woman scratched her cheek.

The Hyuuga prodigy sweatdropped. "If only I knew better, huh?" he muttered. "Thanks for... saving us there."

* * *

"Weeeell, since you're boring your cousin here, I'll just take her and go somewhere!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing Hinata's hand. "See ya later, Screw!"

Hinata blushed at the contact and looked down at their hands as they walked off together, probably to somewhere nice. What a nice captor.

Unfortunately for Neji, who was left responsible for whatever happened to his younger cousin, the blonde had already stolen her.

"Why that son of a-"

"Relax, Neji! Let her go every once in a while," Tenten laughed and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I would get blamed if something happens to her though. Damn that Uzumaki guy for kidnapping my cousin."

"Oh, I bet she's always bored of you and waited for someone to take her to somewhere nice," she joked.

Neji could only glare at her.

"Kidding," the female brunette giggled. "Okay, you don't have any plans, do you?"

Only silence answered her. She just took this as a 'no'.

"Geez, speak up, will you?" she rolled her eyes.

"...okay," Neji huffed.

"Well, since there's nothing on today, and our... _chauffeur _is not present at the moment," Tenten paused for a while to think. After a moment or so, her face brightened up cheerfully. "Let's go over to the Piazza di Spagna!"

"_Spanish square?_"

"Yup. And while we're at it, let's walk on the Spanish steps too," the female nodded and walked on. "Too bad Hinata isn't coming, huh?"

_Wait a second... _Neji thought. "Aren't you supposed to be on your break or something?" he asked, pointing to her casual clothing: plain jeans, a purple shirt with a chibi panda eating a giant lollipop and checkered black & white Vans.

"Yeah," the bun haired female smiled. "I was hoping to go out on a walk anyways. No one's really going with me, and you just happened to be bored, so I'm taking you with me. You want to go sightseeing, don't you?"

* * *

"We're almost there!" Tenten exclaimed with her hands rested on either side of her waist. "All you have to do is go down the Spanish steps!"

"Exactly how many steps are they?" Neji raised a brow and looked down at the scene.

Numerous people were going _down. _**Numerous** people. Below at the foot of the steps, the Square awaited them, along with the _Fontana della Barcaccia._

"About that," Tenten laughed. "I'll let you find out by yourself! Let's go down and count the steps, shall we?"

She suddenly grabbed his arm and led him to the stairs. "You start."

Neji sighed heavily and shook his head. "One," he said flatly as they stepped down together. Surprisingly, he didn't push her off and didn't really mind the close contact.

"Good. Now keep going. You _**do **_know how to count, right?" she asked jokingly with their arms still locked with the other's.

"Two. Three, four."

After a few minutes, they have just reached the 30th steps by taking nearly 10 seconds for each steps. They looked like they were having fun., just like an inseparable couple. Which the locals mistook them for.

"Just a warning. Don't feel awkward and blame me if I get squished closely, alright?" Tenten said as she looked behind, and in front, just to find that even more groups of people started to walk on the stairs.

"Yes, yes, I'll just blame the crowd," Neji said sarcastically as they were pushed together by the passing crowds.

_**After a few minutes...**_

"One hundred and thirty five... almost there, Neji! Keep going!" Tenten exclaimed loudly and was slightly separated from him due to the crowd.

"One hundred... and thirty six..." the prodigy was one step away from success. He tugged Tenten along with him, just so she won't get swept away by the massive amounts of people.

"One hundred and... thirty seven!" he stepped down to the very foot of the stairs quite proudly.

"Congratulations Neji!" the female grinned at him and attempted to step down, but...

"Crap...!" she lost her footing and fell... until the Hyuuga caught her by the waist, as he was closely nearby.

"You alright there?" he asked.

"Yeah. Good thing you were there," Tenten responded as she stood upright. "Thanks! I owe you one. Though... you can let go now, you know."

Neji looked down and coughed as he removed his arms from her. "...right," he muttered. "...you're welcome then."

"...let's look over there," the bun haired female broke the short, momentary silence between them as she pointed over to something and brought him along. "_Fontana della Barcaccia._"

They stood in front of a tranquil fountain with a boat-shaped structure at the center. The water was clear; you could see the bottom of the fountain, and you could tell that the fountain was well-maintained. The two kept their eyes glued to it for quite a while.

A few minutes passed, and they have already started walking on the plaza once again as the number of people subsided. The sun was no longer in the middle of the sky, and the sky was not as bright, meaning it was about 4 in the afternoon.

* * *

"So, what are you planning to do after your vacation here?" Tenten asked curiously as they stopped at a small cafe nearby. "You have about a week left, don't you?"

"Well... I'm planning to start running one of our hotels..." the Hyuuga replied after sipping some of his coffee. "Europe seems pleasant, so I'm considering one of them. Maybe the one here in Rome."

"Then I'll have to call you boss?"

"My first name is just fine. Though stupid nicknames have to be banned."

The brown eyed female laughed at this. "Seems reasonable," she said as her eyes travelled through the crowd outside. "Hey, isn't that Naruto and Hinata?"

"Where?" Neji snapped his head to the side and scanned the scene from outside the window.

"Hey, hey, go easy on them," Tenten frowned. "I thought I already told you to leave them alone. They're having fun, after all."

* * *

"...I still refuse to trust that guy," the pearly eyed male mumbled as they were, once again, walking in the square. "Even though he hasn't done anything. He still looks suspicious."

It was currently about 5 in the afternoon, and they were on their way back up the steps. "Look, he's already proven innocent and safe to be friends with," Tenten sighed heavily. "Geez. Just because he calls you by that nickname..."

"...it's not just that, damn it," Neji glanced at her.

Meanwhile, a few meters away, a certain _male _noticed their presence and decided to approach them.

"Tenten," came a voice behind them.

"Hm...?" the said woman raised a brow and turned around. By seeing this person, she looked surprised. "Oh! Sasuke, you're on your break too?"

_Uchiha again? _the older male thought.

"Yeah," Sasuke gave Neji a millisecond-long glare. "Hyuuga. You wouldn't mind if we chat for a while, do you?"

"Not at all," he replied and gritted his teeth.

"Did you need anything?" Tenten asked as they walked a meter away from Neji.

Sasuke sighed and brought his lips close to her ear. "...you forgot again, didn't you? I'm pretty sure I sent you a text on that."

"Forgot what? What text?"

"You know. If we could hang out this afternoon," the Uchiha said, then looked over at the impatient-looking Hyuuga. "But seeing as it's nearly sunset, I guess it's too late for that, isn't it?"

Tenten blinked and searched her pockets, swearing in the process. "...fuck. I think I may have lost my phone..." she muttered. "Sorry, Sasuke... Is it your day off tomorrow?"

"Uh. Yeah. Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Video game marathon," she said. "You up for it?"

"What do you think?" the raven haired male chuckled. "We haven't had one in a while." He then said seriously, "You're not bringing _him _along, are you?"

"I was thinking of inviting Neji, Hinata and Naruto..." the brunette trailed off. "Unless you don't want to though. I'm totally fine with that."

"...sure, why not?" he reluctantly agreed and shrugged, giving his best friend a small smile.

* * *

TBC

**...yeah, that totally sucked. OTL**

**I fail.**

**Hopefully, the next chapter is way better than this.**

**~ miacchi**


	11. Day 7: Competition

**A/N: Apologies to those who have waited for this chapter. Ten days, sort of. Busy with a bit of schoolwork, and getting my first job on sunday. T'was hectic, let me tell you that. Being the only teen in the workplace is kind of awkward, so... okay, now I'm just trailing off.**

**I think the second half of this chapter is really... yeah, so I _think _you guys might like it xD**

**Thanks to the reviewers:**

_**MAKI CHAN  
So you've visited Italy before? Awesome. I've never been there myself. I hope my descriptions about the place are correct.  
I'm sort of too... poor to go to Europe xD **_

_**Midnight Insomniac  
I wanted more... suspense, and I don't want the story development to go too fast, because that's too overused. I don't really like using those overused stuff, so... yeah.  
You may find this chapter interesting, based on your review x3**_

_** ChibiNinjaGirl  
Why, yes, it was a hint of SasuTen.  
**__.cough._

_**Angelwings228  
Yah, SasuTen. Read on~**_

_**Enjoy, kiddies.**_

_**

* * *

**_

**_Chapter 11_**

_**7, July 10, Saturday, 10 : 02 AM**_

Uchiha Sasuke was waiting in the lobby, waiting for his female best friend to arrive. He was slightly irritated from yesterday's _incident, _as he would like to refer.

He had a few... thoughts about it. Firstly, _what the hell was he thinking? _Secondly, _why did Tenten seem a bit TOO close to Hyuuga, who has only been in Italy for about a week? _Thirdly, _who the hell stole Tenten's phone? _The thief would have to deal with him.

And lastly, _why the fuck did he care so much about this shit?_

Sure, it was natural for someone to be concerned about their best friend, but what he felt was _something else. _Or was something wrong with the _panino_ he ate this morning? It couldn't be.

"Teme!" a familiar loud voice called out from behind him. He didn't bother turning around, since it was pretty obvious who it was.

"..." he rolled his eyes and just stared into space. _He's being annoying already._

"Sasuke, don't ignore the poor guy," he jolted a bit, feeling a hand being placed on his shoulder.

"I could ignore him if I want to," Sasuke replied coolly, pretending that he never jumped from shock. "Everyone ready yet?"

"Yeah," Neji replied, crossing his arms.

_So he WAS coming, _the raven haired man grumbled silently.

* * *

"...so, what're we playing today?" Naruto asked with his arms behind his head. "Can we go on the Wii again?"

"Sorry, we're going on the N64 today," Tenten grinned.

"You have an N64?" Sasuke raised a brow. "Since when?"

"Since I..." the brunette snickered. "...kinda, sorta _borrowed _it from Little Miss Snarker?"

The blonde male laughed loudly. "You are so fucking dead. Akumi's gonna skin you alive if she finds out."

"She wouldn't notice it missing, will she?" Neji asked.

"Trust me, she would," the Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Good job though, Tenten. Bonus points if you don't get caught."

"U-Um... so... you d-didn't borrow it?" Hinata questioned with a soft voice. "Shouldn't y-you return it...?"

"Oh, don't worry," Naruto slung his arm around her shoulders as they all sat down on the living room floor. "It's fine! We do that all the time."

The male Hyuuga glared at him, as if to say 'get your arm off her'.

The four controllers were passed to Neji, Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke as Tenten started up the game.

"MarioKart on 64?" Neji chuckled. _"_This'll be interesting."

* * *

"Whoever goes last is replaced," Naruto was getting _in the game _with his eyes focused on the TV screen as they picked their characters.

As they were signalled to start up, Hinata squeaked; she wasn't exactly the gamer-type of person, but she was doing well. Expectedly, the two prodigies were up against each other, neither of them ahead.

"Teme, get out of the way!" the blonde whined. "Your ass is too big for me to get through in the race!"

"Then stop being such a sore loser," Sasuke grunted as Neji was going ahead by a bit. "Damn it. See what you did? You moron..."

"Well, if you weren't distracted by my totally awesome voice, you would have gone the same speed!" Naruto threw his hands up in the air, still holding the controller. "Fuck, now I'm thankful for that."

"Look who's talking," Neji snickered at the hypocritical Uchiha. "Sore loser."

"You dumbasses, get out of the way!" the onyx eyed man growled as the three males bickered.

Tenten shook her head and facepalmed. "Not again. And I thought playing would get your minds off that..."

While the three fought, Hinata had the chance to trap them all and get to the finish line first. "O-Oh... I won."

In the end, the race resulted in Naruto getting second place, Neji getting in third, and Sasuke was last (since they WERE going all double-team on him).

"WHAT NOW?" the blue eyed male grinned widely and stood up, dancing in honor of his MarioKart 'victory'. "HINATA-CHAN, WE WON!"

Insert Hinata blushing heavily as Naruto hugged her, spinning her around.

Surprisingly, she didn't faint.

* * *

After a few intense rounds of MarioKart, the five were lounging around in Tenten's living room as they had some lunch. Freshly-cooked Chinese food, curtesy of the homeowner.

"This spring roll is quite nice," Neji chewed on his food like he was eating in a 5 star restaurant.

"And the sweet and sour pork is r-really good," Hinata complimented as she wiped her mouth. "H-Have you considered becoming a chef?"

Tenten laughed sheepishly and shook her head. "Nope. I'm kind of more interested in what I ended up now... though I considered being an athlete... I like archery."

"Hundred percent accuracy," Sasuke added. "Haven't seen you play darts in a while."

The brunette's head sunk low. "I spend too much on the darts and the dart boards. Too much holes in them, since I would play a lot... so I decided to buy only one per month," she sighed heavily. "I already used up the one for this month, and I have to do with the back of my door, and let's just say it looks like it went through a war."

"I'll get you one later then," her best friend said straight away. "All you have to do is ask."

"No, you really shouldn't," the female looked a bit flustered at this. "You'll need your money, you know? Think about yourself."

"I have a bit too much on my savings account, so don't hesitate."

_What's he up to anyways? _Neji thought suspiciously. Something in his head rang. _He's trying to get Tenten out of her shift so we'd get stuck with the freaks! That's it. Why haven't I seen this before?_

"I'll take care of that, if you don't mind," he said, looking at Tenten, who snapped her head towards him. "Have as much as you like."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Look, just because you have a lot of money on your hands, that doesn't mean that you could just buy people," he planted his hands on the table as he stood up. "Seriously, Hyuuga... what the hell?"

"I'm only doing her a favor," the pearly eyed man argued. "Since she deserves much more credit."

_This is better than a basketball match! _Naruto thought, sitting on the floor and looking up at the arguing men. Hinata looked down at the ground, disappointed at her cousin's misbehavior.

"Yeah, right, I know what you're up to, Hyuuga," the Uchiha had an angry tone to match his facial expression.

Neji looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "So? I know what _you're _up to."

_Is this guy seriously asking for competition? _the onyx eyed Uchiha clenched his fists. _I'm not going to let him..._

"Can you two just **quit it?**" Tenten yelled, getting up. "Why the fuck do you think I planned this?

The four looked at her fuming.

"Take this outside, I'm not going to tolerate it in my unit," she said before stomping off to her room with a slam of her door, and a click of her lock.

"You guys are in total shit," Naruto whispered. "Hinata-chan, let's go... Ten-chan wants her space when she's angry..."

"Mm, okay..." Hinata nodded her head and followed the blonde out the door. _I sure hope she cheers up... _

"Whatever," Sasuke grunted and left the unit. "Lock the door before you go."

* * *

Neji was the only one left to contemplate on his little quarrel. _Crap... I shouldn't have done that..._

He slid back into his original seat and sighed, finishing the rest of his meal alone in peace... that is, until he heard some thumping from Tenten's room. _Should I check or not...? _he asked himself while he cleaned up all the mess made.

_I better not... not yet, _he thought and struggled as he washed the dishes; he's never done chores before, besides rearranging his room, if that was considered as a chore. His sleeves were rolled up, and the ends were wet from the warm, soapy water.

* * *

It took him about two hours to finish cleaning up. Once again, he came to a question of whether he should go check on the brunette or not. He walked up silently to her door, which was painted black, with a band poster on it.

He sighed and looked down, realizing that he had a pocket-sized notepad and pen in his pockets, since he usually brought them. Reaching for the two items, he wrote on the small, lined paper in black ink.

_**Hey... **_he wrote and looked up at the ceiling as if it had answers to this problem. After pausing, he wrote again. **_Sorry for earlier._**

He tore the paper off carefully and slid it under the door, hoping she would get the message. Neji heard the paper being picked up on the other side of the door, and got up, already satisfied with the thought of her reading the message.

As he was about to walk out the door, he heard a door open; she was finally out of her room.

Looking to the side, he noticed her hair in disarray, just like her clothes. Obviously concerned about her current appearance, he turned and faced her. "I meant what I said," he said silently. "...see you tomorrow."

And with that, he closed the door.

* * *

TBC

**Hope you guys enjoyed reading as much as I had fun writing it. Or typing it up; either way is fun. :D**

**See that button that says 'review'? Please click on it and type anything you want in the pretty box. **

**~ miacchi**


	12. Day 8 Part I, Tour III: Porta Portese

**A/N: Totally sorry for not updating in... a month or so! The big exams are on Monday to Wednesday, which... I have not studied for. I also lost my chapters (my 4th and final usb... my life is over.) and totally lost track of everything. Thanks to Stargazer-Aika, who I gave copies of all my works, I have successfully recovered my fic chapters. And here it is. If anyone comes across her, THANK HER.**

**Thanks to these people for the reviews:**

**_Midnight Insomniac_**

**_MAKI CHAN_**

**_ChibiNinjaGirl_**

**_DarkAnonymous324_**

**_AngelWings228_**

**Enjoy the chapter! (I hope you do)

* * *

**

**_Chapter 12_**

_**Day 8, July 11, Sunday, 7 : 03 AM**_

He couldn't sleep.

_At all._

Uncovering his sheets, he sat up with an annoyed look on his face since he was still a bit... bothered by yesterday's events. _Urgh... _Neji scowled and ran his fingers through his long brown hair.

How the hell was he kept up the whole night? It was merely a small, (and admittedly) childish quarrel, and it didn't matter. It just upset Tenten, that's all... nothing an adult can get over, right?

_I just hope she'll come to work today as if nothing happened, _he sighed. _I'll have to make it up to her later- _

He paused mid-thought. She wasn't _that _kind of person.

Tenten was _not _a materialistic person, and she would just forgive people without a second thought.

_...but giving her that dart board wasn't such a bad idea... _he shook his head. Not again! This was the very thing that caused that argument. _Anything _but the dart board.

_Just... act normal and pretend that you're friends with Uchiha, _Neji told himself.

* * *

"Girl problems so early in the morning?" Katana asked.

Sasuke averted her look. "...no," he muttered with an angry pout. He could be really childish sometimes.

"_Fratello,_" Itachi spoke seriously. The younger Uchiha knew that when Itachi called him something in another language, it meant _serious shit. _"Just let it out. It's been years already, so get it over and done with."

The raven haired male grumbled incoherent words.

_Still can't do it, hm? _Katana thought, sighing. _This boy really needs a bit of help. _"Uhm," she glanced around for any ideas. "You know, you could... always go out and eat gelato together?"

"Kat..." the older brother gave her a look.

"I mean... gelato makes people happy so..." the 23 year old female said. "Who knows? Tenten-chan might feel better with a bit of ice cream."

"...I'll, uh... keep...that in mind," Sasuke gave her a weird look and stood up, walking away from the couple_. Itachi sure has a thing for strange women. "_Err... thanks."

Katana grinned brightly and waved at him. "Y-You're welcome!" she exclaimed.

* * *

Tenten was awake with her head hanging upside down against her bed, while her body laid comfortably on her mattress.

_**Insertrandomringtonehere**_

Extending her arm to her side desk and grabbing her cellphone lazily, she pressed the green button.

_Click._

"..." our favorite brunette of the moment didn't feel like talking, or going anywhere, for that matter. All she wanted to do was avoid as much... _fights _as possible.

"**Tentennnnn!**" a female whined on the other side of the line. "**I thought you were going to work! You have a shift today, don't you?**"

"...tell Tsunade-sama I'm sick," Tenten responded dryly.

"**You sound fine!**"

"...I'm sick, Ino. Go away."

"**Lies! All lies!**" Ino exclaimed. "**Neji's waiting for you with open arms and-!**"

"Of course he is," the brown eyed woman rolled her eyes, sitting upright. "Look, I can't deal with them today. Get Lee or Gai-sensei to go with them or something."

"**Don't make me come over and drag your ass back here!**" the blonde threatened.

"You wouldn't."

"**Try me. I'll make sure to bring **_**the **_**bag. Make sure to be here before 9~**"

"..." Tenten sighed in defeat and hung up, not wanting to deal with any makeup or anything similar; that box has given her more than enough trouble. Last time was just too horrible. "Geez, no wonder Shikamaru calls you a troublesome woman."

* * *

_**8 : 16 AM**_

"Are you sure she's coming?" Sakura asked. "I know she's not sick or anything, but why is she _pretending _to be sick?"

"Of course she's coming!" Ino exclaimed with a wide grin. "About that... I really don't know. I sort of plan to ask her about it..."

"Ask me about what?"

"Tennie!" the pink haired girl blinked. "You're here!"

"Yes, I am," Tenten nodded. "What about it?"

"Anything you'd like to share, hmm?" the blonde asked. She was always straightforward about this stuff...

"Nothing important," the brunette said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and _work _now, since it _is _the reason why I came to work."

"Something is _definitely _up," the green eyed female mumbled, crossing her arms.

* * *

_I guess she isn't working today, _the Hyuuga prodigy thought, looking out his window. _She wasn't **that** pissed, was she?_

Walking out of the door, he decided, _maybe it would be good to go around by myself. I need to be independent, after all._

He pressed the **G **button to go down to the ground floor to start his day off by himself. This morning, there was **no staff maintenance, no gossiping maids **and best of all, **no breakfast in bed. **

Neji felt quite relieved that he found no one in his room that morning, because if there _was, _he might have... _done something terrible. _Like throwing something at them; preferably, wine glass or a wooden chair.

Sighing heavily, he arrived at the ground floor and stepped out of the elevator. _Hopefully, Hinata-sama has something better to do._

"Neji!" Who was calling his name? No, it wasn't a retarded nickname, so Naruto's definitely out. Neither attention-drawing dull voices; many were eliminated, and obviously, Sasuke wouldn't call him that... actually, he wouldn't be calling him in the first place anyways.

It would have to be _Tenten._

He snapped his head towards her. _Finally. _

The female brunette looked cheerful, as usual, as if nothing happened. A bright smile plastered on her face, and her eyes held its usual glint of optimism. She walked over to him in her typical uniform.

"..._buongiorno,_" Neji greeted hesitantly.

The brown eyed woman greeted back, "_Buongiorno!"_

"We're going to _Porta Portese _today! Isn't Hinata-chan going too?" she asked. "I thought maybe...?"

The male Hyuuga sighed. "She went ahead. Abducted by Uzumaki again."

_So it's just the two of us, huh...? _Tenten thought. "...left me to freaking drive..." she muttered. "Let's go, I can drive us there anyways."

* * *

"It's... what is it?"

"It's a tourist attraction. It's called a marketplace," Tenten rolled her eyes. "Are you blind?"

"Okay, so _it's a marketplace,_" Neji stared at her blankly. "What do we do here?"

The female brunette looked at him as if he had arms growing from his head. "Are you kidding me? There's _lots _to do here!" she exclaimed, then sighed. "Neji, have you _ever _been to a marketplace?"

"...no?"

Tenten threw her arms up in the air, then grabbed his wrist to direct him where to go. "Just... come along with me."

Neji looked around like a five year old child in a toy store. There were different items all over the place, and it was a bustling marketplace, even at about eight in the morning. It was like an outdoor mall, since there was buying and selling everywhere.

From clothes to furniture to antiques... nearly everything was there!

_So you purchase items with cheap prices, and you can haggle to lower prices? Interesting.

* * *

_

It was probably about 2 hours until they finally stopped for more than a minute.

He blinked when the tour guide came to a halt in front of a merchant. In front of the man was a large mat placed on the ground, and on top of that were various objects for sale.

Her eyes seemed to brighten up at an item displayed...

Seemed like her eyes were glued to a tiny bag, as if it would only carry a few items. Tenten crouched down to the mat and was about to grab it, until this other girl snatched it at the same time as she did.

"Eh. Excuse me, would you please let go of the bag?" the _tour guide _asked as politely as she can with a fake smile on her face. "I sort of saw this bag first, so..."

"No way!" the other girl exclaimed, pulling the bag towards her. Unfortunately for her, Tenten had quite a grip. "Let go! I NEED this!"

The brunette's smile was lost. "Why don't you ask the guy if he has another one? I'm sure he has _lots."_

"Then you get it! You suggested it yourself," the random girl rolled her eyes. "I want this one."

Tenten growled. "Listen, I did _not _come all the way here for nothing. I had to forcefully drag my ass back to work. I'm not in a very good mood right now, so step off and hand. The goddamn bag. _**OVER**_."

"AS IF."

"HAND THE BAG OVER, DAMMIT!"

_She sure gets aggressive over that, _Neji sweatdropped.

The argument lasted for a good 20 seconds, until our favorite bun haired female practically _ripped _the bag off the other's hands. "_Good day,_" she grunted and went over to the stall holder. _Bitch had to give me a hard time..._

"V-Ve... T-T-Two hundred l-lira... p-p-please," the Italian man stammered, scared that she might bite his arm off or something. He thought it was too early to die, since he was going to make pasta for dinner.

"Alright, one second," Tenten reached into her pocket. "Hundred... hundred and twenty, forty, seventy... damn it, 30 short!"

Neji blinked. It was his time!

"I'll pay for it," he said, easily taking out two hundred.

The brown eyed female looked at him strangely. "Why? I can just... buy it some other time."

"You didn't waste your time fighting for nothing, right?" the Hyuuga shrugged. "Why not?"

"...hmmmmm, fine," she sighed in defeat. "But I'm paying you in the future, with interest."

"Don't bother. Just take it as thanks," the prodigy said, properly paying the now-happy Italian vendor. "Do you want to just go somewhere else now? It's about time for lunch, actually."

"...crap, I forgot about lunch," Tenten scratched her cheek. "Well, for the... thing... _grazie, _but I'm still paying you back."

* * *

TBC

**The next chapter is totally ready to post, so just drop off some reviews! It will be posted next week on Wednesday, at the earliest.**

**Just in case no one knows...**

**_buongiorno: _good morning**

**It is not BUONGERNO.**

**~ miacchi**


	13. Day 8 Part II, Tour III: Vatican City

**A/N: A day earlier than expected! About this chapter... well, I found it really hard to describe this chapter's tourist attraction, because... well, not even words could explain the wonders. No picture or book could perfectly describe it advance, so sorry for the religion talk. ...I am a 'Cat-holic'. **

**Thanks to these people for the reviews:**

**_DarkAnonymous324_**

**_Midnight Insomniac_**

**_ChibiNinjaGirl_**

**Enjoy, kiddies.**

**

* * *

**

**_Chapter 13_**

_**Day 8, July 11, Sunday, 1 : 03 PM**_

"Look, it's a _tip _for a job well done being my tour guide, Tenten," Neji sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. They had just finished their lunch at a restaurant serving Southern Italian cuisine, and they have been arguing about this for nearly an hour already. "Two hundred isn't really that much, and I'm not saying that because I'm uh..."

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, Neji," Tenten frowned. "That means, if you lent me even just five bucks, I should be giving you five back! It's only fair that way."

"It's a _present, _end of discussion," the Hyuuga concluded, placing his palms on the table. "Presents ask of nothing in return."

Tenten opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but paused mid-thought before pouting childishly. "A present... dammit! There's no occasion!"

"Discussion has ended," Neji chuckled, as they paid for their own meals. "Present for either no reason, or a present for being a good employee. You decide."

_That seemed to have calmed her down, _he thought, seeing her shoulders relax. "Where to next?"

"...hey, Neji," she spoke, sitting up.

He raised a brow silently.

"...what's your religion?"

* * *

Neji was confused; why did Tenten ask what his _religion _was, out of all the things she could ask? Growing up in Japan, Shinto and Buddhism were the two religions that his father's family followed. On the other hand, his mother was a Catholic. The odd couple, the Hyuuga family dubbed them as.

Tenten was half Chinese, half Japanese, according to her personal files. Born in China and was adopted, spending a few of her years, then their family moved to Japan to raise her. Since she graduated high school, she was living alone in Italy, where she studied and worked. She was originally a Buddhist, however, she had converted into Catholicism sometime during her stay.

The Hyuuga then recognized his surroundings; he's seen them before. In magazines, on TV, even in movies. They got out of the car and entered a plaza larger than any other one he visited.

Crowds were walking through it, looking up at the largest structure he's ever seen. The two were standing in the middle of St. Peter's Square, right in front of the obelisk. As they walked onward, there it was... the famous St. Peter's Basilica.

"It gets better," Tenten laughed at his awed expression., holding him by his wrist to snap him out of his little daze. "Come on, we're going inside. Good thing I booked it way before you came!"

"...dare I ask how far back...?"

"Hm. A month or two weeks before your arrival? Some time around that, I guess."

"...I never thought you were that organized," Neji blinked, earning a frown from Tenten.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she huffed. "Okay, so I _am _disorganized. I just happened to be... told off for that particular problem at the time."

She then realized that they have entered. "It's best if you just look around," she whispered, looking around. "Not exactly my place to... you know. I'm sure you'll figure out everything on your own. Before you lead the way, please bear in mind that one, this is sacred ground, and two, the mass is in about a few minutes."

_Look who's finally sounding like a tour guide, _the Hyuuga chuckled to himself.

Inside was a collection of art- paintings, sculptures, displayed on the walls, ceilings and even the _floor _was a work of art itself. Entering the Apse, he noticed the near-perfect symmetry of the place. Everything was arranged so accurately.

Neji lead them to sit down, waiting for the holy ceremony to begin.

The mass began after crowds sat at the pews. The choir sings with, dare he admit it, angelic voices, and can't help but smile a bit when Tenten starts singing along.

_Maybe she does fit in with that group,_ he thinks, then shakes it off.

He feels as if he felt less stressed after about an hour and a half of hearing her singing.

* * *

After that hour and a half, it was over at about 3 in the afternoon.

"Wait," she pulled on his arm, making him sit down gently. "Just a minute, okay?"

The Hyuuga reluctantly nodded at leaned against his seat, sitting up straight as usual. He watched her silently as she closed her eyes, kneeling and her hands clasped together loosely.

The usually lively woman was now in a calm, quiet state for moments, leaving him to observe her features. Her brown hair, still in her childish twin buns, gave her a sense of... well, it makes her look more enthusiastic somehow. Chocolate eyes, momentarily closed, are always bright; full of glee. Her smooth-looking skin was slightly tanned from all her outdoor activities and her occupation as a tour guide.

He early jumped when she opened her eyes and stood up. "Well..." she said, looking at him. "Ready to go?"

"...yeah."

* * *

A couple more hours passed as the two went around the site together, looking at artefacts and various masterpieces around the area before heading out to an early dinner.

"I regret not taking a degree in art..." the long haired male sighed after finishing his second cup of tea. "There would have been so much more interesting things to learn."

"Hm, don't you go through books and galleries though?" Tenten raised a brow. "Or at least, that's what I've been told. Apparently, you're a huge history and art fan."

"Whoever you heard it from was right," Neji chuckled, and was interrupted by his ringtone. A classical piano piece... of course. "Excuse me for a minute," he said politely before answering his mobile phone. "Hyuuga Neji, speaking."

Tenten almost snickered at his unnecessary formality around herself. No need to be proper, as long as it's not... well, mean.

"_**Where the hell are you?**" _

It's like Tenten could hear the yelling voice over the phone. It sounded like a young girl's voice. Very impatient, too. Neji's face immediately went from pleasant to... completely annoyed. "Oh. Hanabi," he muttered. "I'm out. What do you want? Why are you calling all the way from-"

"_**God, you blocked me from your emails, didn't you?**__" _Hanabi grumbled loudly. "_**Well, I'll tell you now anyways. Actually, no. Get your ass back to the hotel, a'right? You've gotta start working now, you know! Slacker...**__"_

"Whatever," the pearly eyed male rolled his eyes and dropped the phone conversation, muttering something incoherent. Probably swearing. "Sorry to cut the day short, but we'll have to go back early to start up some work... Great day though."

"No problem, I guess," Tenten laughed sheepishly. _Huh. Never knew he could change face so quickly._

_

* * *

_

Following the normal trip home, the Hyuuga went straight to his suite and checked his emails. Nearly a hundred notifications from his uncle, associates and even his little cousin, who probably isn't interested in getting involved with the business.

One email completely drew his attention. It was from Hiashi, titled _Highly Significant._ Rolling his eyes at the strange title, he clicked on it.

_**From: Hyuuga Hiashi (hyuuga_hiashi)**_

_**To: Hyuuga Neji (hyuuga_neji)**_

_**Subject: Highly Significant!**_

_Greetings. _

_I expect you have read and went through all the documents sent over to you. Though this is a vacation, I presume you are working through and signing papers._

"Apologies, uncle, I have not," Neji whispered and bowed his head in front of the screen.

_Moving on._

_This email is not to remind you of that. This is because I am informing you of our clan customs- one of which was postponed in your case. You were assumed to already have a proper partner in mind after that talk you had with the elder members of the family at your eighteenth, and you have been given a generous amount of 5 years, or even more, my nephew._

"Hm. I don't recall this briefing you speak of."

_However, I suspect that you have not achieved this goal. So, as a good uncle, I decided to do the work for you._

Neji blinked, then stared at the screen blankly.

_I have searched quite thoroughly and found a sweet, decent young woman to suit your taste._

"Taste? What taste? I do not like sweets," he muttered to himself. "How can young women have a taste?"

_You will be meeting her in a matter of days, so please, be ready by then. And fortunately for you, your stay has been extended in order to... bond with the girl. Treat her well; she is the only daughter of a rising executive in one of the main departments of a certain company that we need ties with._

_Good luck,_

_H.H._

Shutting his laptop's lid, he looked down at his table, thinking what the hell.

* * *

TBC

**Hopefully, that didn't bore anyone.**

**Also, I will not reveal this girl until... well, her appearance. Biiig mix-ups coming up! Hint: she's no OC, but she is a minor character that's quite popular in the fandom.**

**Hopefully, my plot bunnies won't run away.**

**~ miacchi**


	14. Day 9 Part I: Work-driven

**A/N: Ohmygod, it finally arrived. Right? It feels good to be back. :}**

**Thank you, reviewers!**

_**Midnight Insomniac**_

_**DarkAnonymous324**_

_**maki chan**_

_**Kupkake1010**_

_**Angelwings228**_

_**10pandaluvr10**_

_**Crestfallenfeline**_

_**Konri Kari**_

_**thecoolauthorwithstory**_

_**OasisSerenity**_

_**Ichigo-chan**_

_**Sandyx5**_

**Seriously, guys, thank you for your support. I love you guys :'D**

* * *

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Day 9, July 12, Monday, 6 : 41 AM**_

Neji had no reason to wake up as early as 6 AM on a two-week holiday, but for some reason, he woke up on his own anyway. It was the second day in a row where he hasn't been well-rested.

_Holiday or not, one always finds something to stress over,_ he noted to himself as he sat outside _Caffe Rosa _for a nice, early breakfast. No unexpected guests in the morning, no people watching you sleep, and best of all: no one to disturb his peace. There was so much he needed to think about…

* * *

_It felt like only ten minutes since he's sprawled himself out on his mattress pondering on his current situation. It's not only been ten minutes, but at least two hours have passed since reading that email. His usually crease-free button up shirt and slacks earned wrinkled, and his hair was pretty messed up now._

_After the first hour or so, he decided to take the red wine out of the refrigerator. He wasn't an alcoholic, but people do try to drink their troubles away. He was simply… an individual that admires wine, as he would describe. _

_Wines aside, there was a much bigger problem ahead. He'd received his itinerary for the 13__th__ attached with Hiashi's message, meaning he would have to meet this woman in two days. Meeting the girl was almost no problem, but she __**could**__ be his future wife. __**Could**__._

_He himself is willing to carry out the task of marrying someone for the sake of strengthening the Hyuugas' ties in order to rise in power. He would do so wholeheartedly, but it's not an easy task at all. Not as easy as franchising globally, or anything._

_Would he get along with this mystery girl? What family could she be from?_

"_Murasaki's?" Neji asked in mumbles. "Sabakuno? Who?"_

_His shock has calmed a bit, but a glass or two of red wine obviously isn't enough to ease him enough, but it was better than nothing._

"_What are you planning…?"_

* * *

That notification naturally came as a shock _and _an expectation. After all, in the world of the wealthy, it's only natural that the sons and daughters would be married off to someone from a family equally as influential as your own.

Normally, these arranged marriages have only existed in older times, but the Hyuuga clan is almost as traditional as they were back in his great-grandfather's days. Neji considered Hinata and himself fortunate that they haven't been fixed with suitors at a much younger age. However, at the age of 21, he didn't think the elders and advisors were deranged to have picked a candidate bride for him now. It was bound to happen, or so he believed, as he was born into a family like this. It shouldn't be too long until Hinata has to do this too.

As the future of the organization, this was his responsibility; to follow instructions, to do what it takes for the company to rise to the top of the business world. He _needs _to _be_ someone who can carry the weight of the company on his shoulders.

He was always work oriented. In fact, he's a well-known workaholic. It was no secret. There was never anything more important to him than work. His world was centered around it ever since the day he could remember. Rarely does he ever break away from it, which only happens on occasions that give him a perfectly valid reason to.

_There are no disadvantages to the plan. The Hyuuga will merge further with another ally to become stronger and have more value,_ he assured himself as he stood up, regaining his posture. _The stronger the ally and the relationship, the more valuable it is to our company._

* * *

_**7 : 57 AM**_

"...again, _mi dispiace,_" Tenten repeated for about the third time before dropping the call. She sighed heavily, thanking that it was over.

"Oh, Tenten, you're here early!" Lee patted her on the shoulder stiffly (making her cringe for a while), wearing his trademark grin. "You always come at 8! What made you change your mind?"

"Is it the burning passion hidden in your heart that's finally opening up?! The passion that you've been hiding for your job?!" Gai interrupted. He had a pretty intense look in his eyes and it almost looked like there was fire lit in them.

"G'morning to you too," Tenten greeted dryly. "Wait, what passion?!"

She shook her head. There goes the conversation redirection again. "Neji called earlier to cancel the tour day for tomorrow, so I had to call and make changes for the arrangements… hopefully we can make time at a later date," she said. "It's not good to miss out on the best places in Italy! It's so worth seeing and not to mention, it's really hard to get bookings in too! Especially last minute ones!"

"Neji?" Lee blinked. "I never knew he was able to change his schedule so spontaneously! Why, if I knew, we would have hung out more if it weren't for his schedule!"

Tenten nodded. "I didn't think he was that kind of person either. I'm sure he's the kind of guy that plans it all out and sticks to it! But it's weird…" she rubbed her chin. "He never really told me _why_ he's cancelling out. He just told me he had a 'priority' or something… I don't think it's any of my business, but it seemed pretty important enough to miss out seeing the Tower of Pisa!"

"He's missing out on that?!" Gai wailed dramatically. "That tower is one of the most iconic structures in the history of this beautiful country! I can't believe it! That's terrible! Terrible!"

"It's unfortunate, but Neji has other things to worry about!" Lee frowned. "But if it's not as important as seeing a tower so magnificent, it'll be an unforgivable act!"

The brunette sighed. "It's my problem, so you two shouldn't be crying about it," she commented. "And besides, that means I can take some of your tours for tomorrow so you can have a shorter shift. Then you guys can go home earlier to watch the soccer game. Right?"

"But Tenten," the older man said worriedly, having changed expressions so quickly. "Are you able to handle such a large group? Are you able to discipline roughly ten people- no, roughly ten _full grown adults_ older than you? You've never worked with such a large group before."

"Sensei is right, Tenten, the Akatsuki is a really challenging group to manage, or so I've heard," Lee nodded, agreeing. "While I do believe you can do it, I'm a little worried."

"Well, I'll just have to see," she laughed sheepishly. "We'll see how it goes tomorrow! Just let Tsunade-sama know for me! That I'm taking them on, I mean! I gotta go through tomorrow's plan so I know what to do!" She sounded excited, as she'll be taking another step forward in her career in tourism. Being able to handle an entire group of ten or more… next will be twenty! Or even more!

"_I can't wait~!_" she sang to herself unusually, walking off with a little beat to her step (which was odd, seeing as she doesn't often show a side like this to others).

"She must be in the prime of her youth!"

* * *

_**1 : 14 AM**_

"…hopeless little brother," Itachi teased. "Have an open mind. No girl is going to say yes to beating around the bush! Open yourself to a woman's advice."

"I take sweets very seriously, Sasuke," Katana giggled. "Trust me on this one."

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you're wiser," Sasuke grumbled. "I'm on my break and I think I deserve a little time to eat lunch by myself. I'm not ten anymore."

"You have never failed to approach me to ask for advice," the older Uchiha pointed out. "Not so directly at times, and let me tell you, being direct is what you have to work on. Face the question head on and the answer will reveal itself."

Sasuke mimicked his brother, hearing that last sentence so many times that it's practically been imprinted or even _tattooed_ on his brain.

* * *

TBC

**No cliffhanger, but I hope you enjoyed my revival. :'D**

***mi dispiace: I'm sorry btw :P**

**I took two years of studying Italian Beginners after 2-3 years of learning the basics. I liked it.**

**I think I know what I can do from here. I wonder how my writing changed.**

**~ miacchi**


	15. Day 9 Part II: Apparently Complicated

**A/N: Once again, I apologize for the totally late update. Happy (late) holidays, everyone, I hope you enjoyed yours. **

**_Ichigo-san_  
**

**_OasisSerenity_**

**_mk_**

**__Thank you for your reviews! But please don't expect anything from this (icky) chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_**Day 9, July 12, Monday, 6:12 PM, Konoha Staff Lounge**_

"Aaaah, I'm so tired!"

Taking off his cap, he threw it over to the couch. Just to save himself a spot in front of the television. Naruto just arrived from an arrival earlier than expected (having driven around some clients for a little bit of sightseeing).

"Naruto!"

The blonde turned his head. "Yeah? What's up?"

"I wasn't able to get in contact with you earlier today since you were on call, so we've got a lot to talk about," Tenten pulled him over to a seat with some paperwork on top of the table. "Last minute changes to tomorrow's schedule."

"Yeah, I saw like, five missed calls from you," he rolled his eyes and sighed. "I hate it when that happens, but go on anyway."

"I managed to change things up, so that way we both won't lose any shifts," Tenten sifted through the papers. "You don't have to drive up to Pisa anymore, so you can take Hinata somewhere closer, if that's okay."

"Eh? Just Hinata? What happened to Neji?"

"He said he had something more important. A meeting or whatever," the brunette answered. "I don't know the details, but he said to take his cousin around. Drive around town for a while so she can see the city!"

Naruto frowned. "That idiot cancelled out on seeing-"

"Yeah, I know. Lee and sensei made a huge deal about it. But on the bright side, you can finish early! You'd be off from 10 to around 3ish. That cool?"

"Mm... but where are you going?" he asked curiously. "Aren't you going with us?"

Tenten scratched her cheek. "Well, since we're not going for that long drive, I thought it would have been better if I took on Gai-sensei and Lee's job for the afternoon. I'm just taking people for some places that are a walking distance from here. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Alone?" Naruto rested his cheek on his palm. "You can probably handle it! Just call on someone if you need help!"

"I will."

"...hey," he said. "Aren't you wondering why Neji isn't going? Usually people give out a reason why they can't go, right?"

"It's not really our business," Tenten shrugged. "But I am a little curious about it. Maybe I'll ask tomorrow when he's finished with his meeting thing."

* * *

A hat suddenly flies to a certain someone's face. More specifically, Naruto's hat.

"...stinks..." Shikamaru groaned, having been interrupted from his nap. He had been on his break just around twenty minutes ago and jumped on the couch as soon as he hit the employee lounge to rest.

_What do I need to do to get some proper sleep around here? _He thought. His droopy eyes stared at the television screen and sighed.

"_...are leading the business world by **storm**!"_

"First thing I see when I wake up is the freaking news," he winged.

Chouji chuckled and took a seat on the single seater. "You should have gone somewhere else to sleep then. Can't help that this is on. It's 6 o'clock."

The screen showed a crowd of reporters fighting to get a single word out of their "potential interviewees". Unfortunately, the bodyguards were too much to take on, and the three figures just simply refused to let anything slip out of their mouths.

The ambassador, the pillar and the tactician; figures with a role of their own. They work in unison at the top of the organization of which they were, as many say, fated to inherit.

Forging relations and maintaining them in order to expand the company further. Securing the status of the corporation not only financially and economically, but also creates an overall consistency. Ensuring that their organization, through meticulous and careful strategies, is second to no other.

"Hey..." Chouji's eyes widened in surprise and pointed to the screen. "Isn't that...?"

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen. "T-Temari..."

Temari, along with her brothers Kankuro and Gaara. The siblings inherited Suna Corp from their father. In almost a decade, they've made drastic progress and change to the company, making it worth more than millions.

"I can't believe your ex is a total big shot now," Ino leaned against the back of the couch, surprising both her friends. "Why'd you even let her go?"

She shook her head mockingly.

"Don't bring that up now..." Shikamaru grumbled. "What a pain."

"You used to be serious with her, right?" Ino asked. "You went out for so long, I didn't even think you'd break it off."

"It was like that, but they went on and off, then on and off again," Chouji muttered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Then it got all complicated. I thought it was troublesome to keep up with all that, but I guess she agreed with me in the end."

"From middle school to high school, even to the first semester of college," Chouji added. "The end was pretty brutal."

"Chouji, who's side are you on?" his best friend whined. "I'd rather forget about that. It's too much to think of the past."

"You must regret it now," the blonde commented. "Miss Big Bucks probably has everything that a guy can ask for!"

"I agree with that," Chouji nodded. "Plus she can afford those high end all-you-can-eat buffets for every meal! Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and even a midnight snack..."

"You two never let me go to sleep in peace," the brunette yawned.

Ino smacked his ponytail. "Not until you tell me all about what happened between you two! I didn't hear any details back then, you know!"

"You don't want to hear it, trust me," Shikamaru responded dryly. "I'd have to explain everything to you? That's too much trouble for me."

"Ino! Guys!" Sakura tapped the blonde on the shoulder.

Ino grinned. "Just in time, forehead girl! You've gotta help me pry out details!"

"For your information, miss piggy, I'm only here to tell you guys _**not **_to come anywhere near conference room C tomorrow in the morning or in the afternoon!" Sakura crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out at Ino. "And Tsunade-shishou will be in a meeting, so don't look for her then. It's _very important_! Oh, and _don't bother the guests _is what I was told to tell you specially, Ino-pig!"

"What'd you just call me, billboard-brow?!" Ino growled. "Take that back!"

"More VIPs," Chouji said. "The hotel's getting pretty busy, right, Shikamaru?"

"Unfortunately," the brunette replied with a sigh as he watched the two girls argue. And of course, minutes later, they're like best friends again.

"Eeeh, so our resident genius has got that kind of history," Sakura giggled (for a split second, the guys thought she was about to hunt someone down).

Ino was about to interrogate the lazy ass, but the television had something far more interesting to say.

"_The Suna Corporation's leaders have confirmed it: they will be making their way to the Suna Corp Italy branch and will be arriving tomorrow morning!"_ the news reporter announced, standing with an airport in view.

"Oh my god!" Ino screamed. "She's totally coming to see you, Shika! She's gonna want to get back together, isn't she?! Are you gonna say yes?!"

"...great."

* * *

TBC

**Not much going on here. Mmhm. Yup.**

**Not sure if I should go with my original plan, or my new plan. Cannot spoil, so HNNNNGH. Someone help me out here. Equal amount of subplots. ono**

**Seriously, halp.**

**~ miacchi**


	16. Day 10 Part I: Expecting Changes

**A/N: Another delayed update. So much stuff in this chapter despite it being short. I guess this will make up for the ultra lateness. Don't hate on the characters, okey? Happy (delayed?) Hearts day, guys. **

_**Midnight Insomniac,**_

**thank you for your review from last chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Day 10, July 13, Tuesday, 7 : 39 AM**_

"You seem... lively today. And it's only seven in the morning!"

"It's called an espresso, Tenten."

"No, it's not that. I dunno, there's just something about you today that's different. Not that it's bad though," Tenten said, placing the tray full of food on the table.

Neji shook his head and muttered a little 'thank you'. "I've got an appointment today. A very important one, as I've told you before. Of course I need to be lively."

_You didn't really mention what it was though, _Tenten tapped her foot, then pounded her forehead gently. _I'm not supposed to know! I'm just serving this guy! It's business confidentiality!_

"Is something wrong?" Neji asked, noticing the woman hit her own forehead.

Tenten quickly shook her head in response, her hands dropping to her sides. She blamed her own natural curiosity over her thoughts. "Nah, I just thought of something really stupid. Sorry you had to see that, Neji."

He chuckles in amusement. "It's fine."

She laughs in return. _Not many people are willing to put up with a bit of silliness._

"To be honest, I thought you were the type that would take things too seriously."

"You're not wrong about that," Neji says and takes a bite out of the slice of toast. "I do take things quite seriously."

"Then I guess even someone like you has a little sense of humor," Tenten jokes.

"Surprising, isn't it?"

"Just a bit," she smiles, then pauses. "I guess I better leave you to have your breakfast in peace."

"You don't have to," Neji responds. "The only time I would send you out is if you suddenly turned into Uchiha. The bastard just keeps staring."

"Well, if you two would stop having glaring contests every time you meet, it would bother you less," Tenten rolled her eyes. "But anyway, I really have to go. I gotta get things prepared. I've got a big afternoon ahead of me today!"

"Ah, I see," Neji nods. "See you around."

"Mm, see you!" she waves her hand and slips out of the door.

* * *

_**10: 05 AM, Konoha Administrative Office**_

"Shika!"

"Argh!" the genius was suddenly snapped out of his half-asleep state. He sighed heavily. He wished that, for once, no one would go into his corner of the office today. He was unfortunate for the day. "Hey. Don't go scaring me like that."

Ino placed her hands on her waist. "Well, you shouldn't be sleeping when you should be working!"

"You're not my supervisor... you're not even in the same department."

"Somebody aught to keep track of what you're doing," Ino rolled her eyes. "I'm just here 'cause I'm on a little break."

"So?" Shikamaru raised a brow, not even turning around from his desk. "Go have coffee. Bother Sakura instead."

"She's just talking to Tsunade-sama at the moment," Ino said, resting her elbow on her friend's head. "I want to bother you about Temari."

"Don't."

"Oh, come on!" Ino huffed. "Don't you even care she's gonna march into town? You two were _tight_ back then!"

"That was before. Now is now."

"And you're not gonna call her?"

"Nope," Shikamaru replied bluntly. "After we broke up, we cut each other off. Probably."

Ino stared at him blankly. "What do you mean 'probably'?"

Shkamaru shrugged. "I meant what I said. We didn't contact each other after that. Then we never caught up when we both left."

"Have you thought of the possibility of the Sabakuno siblings staying _here_ for accomodation?" Chouji chimed in, with a pack of chips in hand.

Shikamaru turned around to see his best friend. "...I didn't want to think it, Chouji."

"Sorry, but... I gotta break it to you, buddy," Chouji apologized. "But our hotel is top notch. It's almost unlikely for them _not _tochoose this place. Unless they go over to Oto. I highly doubt that though."

"I'm lucky I've got an inside job," Shikamaru muttered. "That means I don't even have to show myself at the lobby. As long as I stay on this fourth floor haven, I don't have to bother doing anything else." Keep in mind that Shikamaru has _never ever _called his own workplace a _haven._

Chouji patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, man. Just don't use the public areas. Go through employee-only accessible areas."

Ino puffed her cheeks. Those two always kept secrets between themselves. A lot of things were _not _discussed with her, especially if it's something that important. She knew she had to do some digging on her own, like she always does.

* * *

_**11 : 39 AM**_

Tenten grins in satisfaction. "Finally. Everything is set for this afternoon! Now I don't have to worry about it!" She was feeling fairly confident today. Discovering the 'stoic' Hyuuga Neji had a sense of humor, and that everything is perfectly planned for the Akatsuki.

Hopefully, the group wouldn't cause a ruckus _during _the short trips.

"Hey."

"Oh, Sasuke. What's up?"

"You gone out for lunch yet?" Sasuke asked. Fortunately, she shook her head. He nodded to himself, recalling the conversation with his brother (along with every single word of advice he's heard from everybody else). "I just wanted to ask if you want to go and have lunch with me."

_There. I said it,_ he thinks to himself.

"Um, yeah, sure!" Tenten replies. "Come get me in around... half an hour?"

If only he could smile. "Cool. See you then."

* * *

_**12 : 50 PM, Alfredo's Ristorante**_

"Alright, 1 at Alfredo's," Neji mumbled to himself as he re-read his email regarding details about his appointment. His uncle Hiashi's secretary, who has sent the message hours ago, thought it would be _funny _to tell him to 'take his time'.

Neji _does not _appreciate this kind of humor and instantly deletes the message. He could only put a hand to his forehead and just shake his head. Obviously, he is the only one thinking about the situation seriously. He could already see that the old geezers back at home would be putting up bets (as they drank, of course) whether or not the omiai would pass successfully. Or worse, the possibility of him doing something indecent. He cringed. It _could _get so much worse than that, but he decided not to wonder about it further.

That aside, Neji ensures that he would show up ten minutes earlier than the appointed time. Of course, as expected of an almost-overly-formal gentleman. He waits at the table patiently. Minutes later, he sees a waiter escorting a young lady to her table. The woman walks over to his table and greets him.

"Um... good afternoon," she greets timidly. She was a simple-looking woman. With her short brown hair and black eyes, you wouldn't have guessed that she was the one Neji was supposed to be meeting.

"...good afternoon. Hyuuga Neji," he gets up, introduces himself and shook her hand. He politely goes and helps her to her seat.

"Gojo Matsuri," she utters a 'thank you' and offers a smile.

* * *

TBC

**To the person who guessed Matsuri, you are so right. You get a virtual slab of bacon. How dare you read my mind :'D**

**Do not hate on her. And also, there will be no catfights, so beh. Don't expect a lot, haha. I might update in a couple days and I hope it won't be as rushed as this one.**

**Can you guys just check if there were errors? I didn't bother re-reading it to check. Thanks, dudes.**

**~ miacchi**


	17. Day 10 Part II: A Life Half-Empty

**A/N: Wow, I actually kept my promise of updating in a couple of days. It _is_ a couple of days, right? It's so much shorter than usual, but hey! An update.**

**Thank you for your review last chapter, **

_**Ichigo-chan!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Day 10, July 13, Tuesday, 1 : 25 PM**_

Gojo Matsuri.

Neji has spent around half getting to know her, and vice versa.

She works for Suna Corp in the administrative branch and has been working for the said company almost after she had finished her college years. Matsuri also pointed out that her father has been building up a company manufacturing office supplies, thus creating a small partnership with Suna.

Neji's observations view her as a very soft-spoken, modest lady. As expected of a woman that has 'passed' through the 'screening process' held by the Hyuuga elders back at home.

Come to think of it, out of the countless women he had been matched with, Matsuri was one of the few that he would deem reasonable or tolerable. The girl didn't cling, screech or bore him out completely. She wasn't too hard to get along with, but at least that's something.

"Neji," Matsuri's fingers gripped on the edge of the table, held close to herself. She didn't seem too familiarized with calling him by his first name. Or maybe she was uncomfortable. "Have you ever loved a woman before?"

Neji was taken aback with the sudden question. It was quite bold of an action coming from the shy girl. Out of all the things she would ask him, he did not expect any of _that _at all. "U-Um..." he stammered uncharacteristically. He didn't exactly know how to answer that question. Was it a test? "...I would have to say no. Not that I know of."

Matsuri nodded to herself. Neji decided not to pry regarding the sudden question, but he definitely had a feeling something was bothering her. Plus, he wasn't sure if she was in love with someone or was making sure that he wouldn't be having affairs if they _do _happen to get married. _If._

He decides to change the subject after a long pause. "...so you work for Suna Corp. Has your father asked you to take over his company after his retirement?" he asked. He thought Matsuri would have taken over her father's business, which usually does occur when parents pass down the business to their children.

"I like working at Suna," Matsuri answered simply, and nothing more. She wasn't after any inheritance or anything of the sort. She wanted a job she was happy with, and she found what she wanted in Suna Corp.

Hearing this reply, Neji couldn't help but smile. Matsuri was actually independent, living her own life as she wished and didn't need to rely on anyone to achieve her goals. This was what he couldn't do. He followed orders and made decisions for others, but he wasn't completely able to make decisions for himself. Matsuri's attitude towards her life was almost like Tenten's. They both seemed equally as happy with the path they've set out on their own.

He sighed, twirling his half-empty goblet of wine lightly. "You know, I wish I lived a life like yours."

* * *

_**1 : 38 PM**_

Tenten's hair blew wildly as she watched the chain of shops go by while they drove past. Sasuke occasionally glances her way, even when he kept telling himself that he was 'only looking at the side mirror'. Of course, that was a lie only half the time.

"So where we gonna eat?" she asked, her forearms leaning against the window frame.

"There's this restaurant... I heard it's pretty good," Sasuke replied. During yesterday, he heard Chouji informally critiquing the place to Shikamaru (who was nodding along) and Naruto (who genuinely wanted to try it out for himself). If a chef says it's good, then it must be pretty good.

He slowed down and came to a stop parallel to the pavement. "I gotta find myself a parking space. Do you wanna go ahead and get us a table?"

Tenten nodded, rolled up the window and opened the door. "Um, yeah, sure! You want anything for the _antipasto?_"

"Just some seafood, thanks. I'll be there in... five minutes?"

She exited the car and gestured a small wave. "Alright, see you in five then!"

Tenten smoothed down her clothes as soon as Sasuke drove ahead. Looking at the restaurant exterior, she could already see it looked a little fancier than places she'd usually eat at for lunch. The place had a slightly rustic look, and seemed like it had a great atmosphere. It must have a lot of customers.

She clutched her handbag a little tighter and bit her lip. "Aw, crap, why'd he pick an expensive place?" she muttered to herself and swore she might have to strangle Sasuke after their meal. Tenten was afraid she'd be a bit short on cash and she won't get her pay until Thursday...

"_Buongiorno, _welcome to Alfredo's Ristorante_,_" the waiter greeted, approaching her. "Table for one, _signorina_?"

Tenten almost jumped. That waiter practically came out of nowhere. "Table for two please..."

"Ah, _si,_" the man said. "Table for two. Right this way.."

Tenten followed the waiter and entered the restaurant. The restaurant was bigger than she thought, seeing as the dining area probably had at least twelve more tables than she thought the restaurant had. It had a lot of space, plus there was even a bar right in the center.

The waiter ushered her near the center of the restaurant, just next to the wall. "What would you like to start with?"

She stared at the menu in her hands. "My friend will have the uh... _calamari_, and I'll have the _arancini_... oh! And just water for the drinks. _Grazie..._" As soon as the waiter left, she thought she saw someone who looked familiar sitting in the back portion of the restaurant dining with someone else. She was a bit too far away to clearly see faces from where she was sitting. People occasionally went walking past, so it didn't make the situation any better.

Tenten wasn't _completely_ sure if it was her imagination or not, but that person looked a _little bit _like Neji.

* * *

TBC

**BTW:**

**_antipasto: _appetizer  
**

_**buongiorno: good day**_

_**signorina: miss**_

_**grazie: thank you**_

**and as we all know; _si: OMGYES_**

**I hope that was better than last chapter :')**

**~ miacchi**


	18. Day 10 Part III: Friends

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I hope this chapter isn't too short!**

**Thanks to the reviewers: **

_**OasisSerenity**_

_**Ichigo-chan**_

* * *

_**Chapter 18**_

_**Day 10, July 13, Tuesday, 1 : 46 PM**_

"Tenten."

The brunette tilted her head upwards, looking at her friend. "Oh, Sasuke. You sure took your time," she pouted. "The entree hasn't even arrived yet, but I ordered us some starters, then we can just order the rest after that."

Sasuke nodded and took his seat. "Sorry I took a little long. The parking was at the next block and I had some trouble with a guy there."

"I hope you didn't cause any trouble," Tenten narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. When Sasuke is annoyed, he's almost prone to break into argument.

"I did not," Sasuke scoffed. "He just stole my parking spot, which is why I had to go find another one. It wasn't quick, let me tell you that."

Tenten rolled her eyes and found her vision land on the person in the distance once again. Every once in a while, her brown eyes would wander around and take a look at who she assumed seemed familiar to her.

Eventually, their entrees have arrived. She ate in silence, and of course this may have bothered her friend. "Hey. Something up?" Sasuke asked curiously, gently placing his fork to rest on his plate.

The woman just shook her head and offered a sheepish grin, taking in a mouthful of the arancini she had ordered. "Noffin'!" she replied, then swallowed her food. "Nothing! I just waited for it to cool a bit! Last time I ate one of these bad boys, my tongue got scalded. So I'm trying to be careful this time!"

She didn't know what was worse; having lied to her friend or that she had to take that last bite in a totally uncivilized she had to admit that Naruto, of all people, seemed like she had more manners at dinner compared to the way she ate for the last ten seconds! But on the other hand, it might actually be better not mentioning Neji at the moment. For all she knows, he might throw another bitch fit.

Tenten sighed. Her curiosity has already been caught, and there was nothing to help her confirm who it was. _It'd be totally weird to walk up there for no reason then come back, _she thought. _Unless that guy, girl... whoever that is, leaves the restaurant!_

Sasuke merely glanced up occasionally to check up on her. She wouldn't say, but there was definitely something going on that he knows nothing about. Since she was too stubborn to talk about it, the only way to find out is to observe her and see if anything happens.

A few minutes after the main course arrived, he noticed she hadn't touched her food as much as she usually does. Normally, she would have surely eaten a little more than a quarter of the full portion.

That just confirmed it.

_Aw, man, I just gotta see! _Tenten thought, her lips tightly shut in anticipation. She adjusted herself in her seat, leaning slightly to the right. She placed her hands on the right hand corner of the table for support. Unfortunately, her view didn't get any better. _I better move a little more._

"You alright there?" Sasuke asked, showing a hint of curiosity. Tenten nodded, most of her attention focused towards the mystery man-or-woman.

Tenten decided to lean a little more to the right, with her body close to being parallel to the ground. Of course, that wasn't a complete exaggeration from the truth. Suddenly, a thud is heard. She had just fallen over to the side.

Sasuke jolts in surprise, almost immediately rushing to her side. It was like she was frozen over, just lying on the floor for a few seconds right after a couple of waiters arrived to help. "Are you okay?!"

"Tenten, are you okay?!" Sasuke repeats, shaking her shoulder lightly. "What the hell happened?"

She shot up and offered a sheepish grin. "Uh... yeah," Tenten replied as she gets pulled up by her friend. "I guess I shouldn't be sitting that way. Ever."

The restaurant staff dispersed once again and went back to their stations after offering her some help, which she kindly declined. Some of the customers even stared and mumbled to themselves as they watched the scene.

"Look. I know something's bothering you," Sasuke said seriously as they got back on their seats. "You just fell off a chair. You barely even touched your food. I have to know what it is you're thinking."

"I... I thought I saw someone I knew," Tenten answered, resting her forehead on her hand. "That's all. I just thought... it's not really important. I must've got it wrong anyway."

"It seems like a pretty big deal," Sasuke responded, sure that she was leaving something out. "Aren't you worried that you might've had a concussion, maybe? You can't just ignore the risk, Tenten."

She sighed. "Okay, so I wasn't thinking about any of that," she mumbled. This lunch was turning out to be a day-wrecker. She might just exit the establishment completely stressed out, just in time for more work. "But it's okay! I'm not hurt, and the food hasn't gone cold!"

"It's not about the food," he grunted. Obviously, there was no way she can think of to lighten up the conversation between them. "You should worry more about yourself. Everyone worries about you, so why can't you do the same? Who knows what can happen to you?"

"I'll worry about myself when something does happen," Tenten mutters, stabbing her fork in the pasta. "You guys have yourselves to care about too."

"We're all here to look after each other," Sasuke says, then pauses. "...and that's what Sakura and the rest would be saying if everyone was here to watch you fall off."

"That's funny, you haven't said anything like that ever," she glances at him before shifting her eyes downwards.

"That's because..." Sasuke's voice drifts away.

Awkward silence. Today was filled with those, and it's only been a couple of hours that they've met up for lunch. None of them could ever recall a moment before today that they've had this kind of silence between them. They usually talked or laughed. Today was just _really_ different. "...anyway, is this friend of yours so important?"

Tenten looks up seeming confused. "What? Friend?" she questions his curiosity and change of topic. "Why do you ask?"

"Why don't you just go over there and see for yourself?"

She bites her lip. "...I'm not sure why," she replies. "I really don't." She questions herself again and again, and still hasn't had an answer; _why can't I go over there? _There isn't any rule that says she can't just walk up to that table and greet her... _friend._ Were they even friends? Can they call themselves _friends_?

It's like Tenten just lost interest in looking for that person, Sasuke notices. She'd grown quiet, just nibbling away on her food. She barely even looked away from the dish. _Why am I angry? _He couldn't find it himself to apologize at that moment.

They both managed to make it to dessert. The waiter takes their order, hoping that the young lady in front of him has calmed down and rested.

It was then that the very familiar man decided to make his way out to the restaurant along with a woman. It was then that Tenten looked at him and her, hiding behind the leather-bound dessert menu.

It _was _Neji.

* * *

TBC

**I just started university, so please be informed that my updates will may not come as quickly. I'll try using my breaks and weekends to write.**

**~ miacchi**


	19. Day 10 Part IV: Embarrassment

**A/N: Yay, weekly update! I actually wrote this chapter during the weekdays I had free time. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Thanks to the reviewers: **

_**Ichigo-chan**_

_**Midnight Insomniac**_

* * *

_**Chapter 19**_

_**Day 10, July 13, Tuesday, 2 : 21 PM**_

Tenten's mouth was gaped the entire time, right when she saw Neji until the desserts came. A good ten minutes. "...I can't believe it."

"...Can't believe what?" Sasuke asked, sighing heavily. Could it be more problems that she refused to tell him about?

She blinked. She didn't actually mean to say it out loud! _Shit, now he heard it! _"I... can't believe that I _didn't _know this kind of _cannoli _would ever exist! I mean, it's delicious!" she lied, immediately stuffing her mouth with the dessert. "I never knew they sold the best ones so close by!"

"Right," he muttered, stabbing the tiramisu Tenten ordered for him. Sasuke rarely eats anything sweet, but she insisted he'd join her for dessert. And voila, the solution was to get the tiramisu since it had the bitter flavor of coffee.

_'Business meeting', my ass! _Tenten thought. Being as curious as anyone can be, she somehow wished she could be a little nosier... _nah. _She scrapped the idea. If she did pry in other people's business, she'd be like Ino! _I don't think anyone would appreciate another person being intrusive, _she noted.

But still. She found it a bit weird that Neji would lie. He didn't seem like the type to lie. Neji is pretty blunt, as far as she knows. _On second thought, I heard guys are embarrassed to say they're going on a date. That must be why he told me it was a meeting! And I guess that explained why he looked a little uneasy..._

She sighs in content. Now everything made sense. It's about time her mind felt at ease.

The two eventually finish their dessert and Tenten looks noticeably... more focused on her lunch with her friend. "Looks like it's time to pay for the bill," Sasuke mumbles and signals to call the waiter, but Tenten pulls his arm back down on the table. He looks confused. "You wanna order something else?"

"No, no, it's not that," she shakes her head. "I just... I just wanted to apologize for today. I was totally out of it today and it was _not _cool to kind of ignore you today. We're here to have a good lunch together, and I really spoiled it. So there. I hope you're not pissed at me or anything... Are you?"

"It's fine," Sasuke replied. His hands rested on the table and inched closer to hers. He refrained himself from getting any closer; what would she say? "I would have to _try _if I were to get mad at you. You mad at me?"

"No," Tenten smiled. "You're a great guy, Sasuke. Thanks for putting up with me."

"I could say the same thing," he chuckled. "Alright, we gotta pay for the bill. We don't want you being late for your big group tour, would you? Let's make this quick, this one's on me."

Tenten blinked. "Nonono! I caused all that trouble and... just let me pay for it! Come on!"

"Nope. I already called shots," he said, signalling for the waiter once again. "You can buy us the next lunch."

She crossed her arms childishly and slouched in her seat. "Damn you, Uchiha Sasuke."

The man merely smirked and paid for their meal. "Let's go."

The two left the restaurant chatting normally, carrying on as if the whole incident never happened. To their relief, the tension from earlier did go away, and both wished it would be "the usual" again from then on.

They were in the car again, this time on their way back to the hotel.

"Hey, Sasuke, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

Tenten lifts her hand and began fumbling with her bangs. "What is it with guys being embarrassed about a date? I mean, are all guys like that or something?"

He raises an eyebrow. "What? Why are you asking that?"

"Just out of curiosity. You know. Since we were kind of talking about... the guys before," she replied, thinking of something they said that would link to her question. It'd seem odd of her to ask it out of the blue. "I kinda remembered back then and..."

"You could say guys always have something to hide," Sasuke interrupted. "Not like you girls who literally talk about everything. I'm not specifically pointing at you, by the way, but I noticed girls usually talk about guys, gossip and that kind of stuff. True, right?"

"True..." Tenten said slowly, agreeing with his point.

"Compare it to guys who talk about pretty much everything. Imagine, you're in high school and you're talking with your... mother, for example. Would you talk to her about gossip? Maybe. Would you talk to her about... say, the guy you're seeing?"

"Hah, not a chance."

"Exactly. You get me?"

"Yeah," Tenten's laughter died at that. "That makes sense. How do you...?"

Sasuke glanced at her. "...know?" he seemed to have finished her sentence. "I've got a nosy older brother who acts like my mother. You get used to it."

"Again, that makes sense," she said. "Itachi doesn't look like the motherly-brother kind of guy."

"I wish he wasn't," Sasuke groaned. All the 'advice' seemed ridiculous at first, but they were surprisingly helpful. Like Itachi said earlier, Sasuke has never failed to approach his brother for a word of advice.

And because his brother absolutely _loved _speaking in metaphors, riddles and such, a lot of the stuff he said was confusing. He knew Itachi was amused with his reactions and responses, and those are one of the times Sasuke would call him a total dick. But of course, Itachi would always respond with a laugh and a shake of his head.

_When would be the right time? _The question has been ringing in his head ever since he'd found out about his feelings towards Tenten. _Is there a right time?_

"_It's never about the timing or the place," _he recalled his brother say. _"It's about how you say it. Get the picture?"_

"I'm gonna ask you a question this time," Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on the road. He was thankful he had to drive. He didn't have to make up an excuse for averting his eyes elsewhere.

"Shoot," Tenten shrugged.

"You like someone right now?" he asked. "Since you uh, asked _your _question before, I noticed you haven't really talked about that."

She stared at him. "Wow, that was an unexpected question."

_**Do **I like someone? _Tenten asked herself. _Do I have feelings for anyone? Anyone at all? _

She realized she never really liked anyone in a long time. Tenten easily focused on her goals, her top priority. The last time she must have liked someone was probably back in... when was it? College? High school? How about elementary school?

She didn't quite remember.

"...I guess... no," Tenten replied, slumping in her seat. Her fingers were stroked the seatbelt. "Must be weird, huh? Usually, girls would say they do like someone, but-"

"It's not weird."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure there's a lot more people like you than you've ever thought," Sasuke said. If there were a lot of people like Tenten, why did he end up having feelings for _her_? He should have liked another girl. Maybe someone who felt the same way. _I really shouldn't be saying things like that._

He didn't know exactly what it was about her. She was likeable overall, but there wasn't a certain trait that was especially appealing. Maybe he enjoyed her company, or maybe it's because she's so focused on fulfilling her ambitions. It could be anything, it's just that he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He likes her, and that's that.

"...how about you, Sasuke?" Tenten quickly changed the topic. "Do you have a special someone?"

'Everyone is unique'. Sasuke didn't believe in that saying. Tenten wasn't special, nor was anyone else. She's hardworking, just like many millions of people in this world. He wants to create his own path in life, just like many others.

"I _have... _had feelings for her for a while," he answered, reaching a red stoplight. He might as well give it away. She had to find out sooner or later. "You."

"I what?"

He looked over to her. "It's you."

* * *

TBC

**So there you have it. How will she respond?**

**The next chapter is already written (I was on a roll during those couple of days!) so I don't have to worry about it too much!**

**Look forward to the next chapter!**

**~ miacchi**


	20. Day 10 Part V: They Just Keep Coming

**A/N: Sorry for the one week delay. I know I said I already wrote the chapter two weeks ago, but I had no time posting it due to university stress. I also might post the next chapter in two weeks. You guys may or may not be disappointed with this chapter. You have been warned.**

**Thank you to: **

_**Ichigo-chan**_

_**Midnight Insomniac**_

_**OasisSerenity**_

* * *

_**Chapter 20**_

_**Day 10, July 13, Tuesday, 3 : 05 PM**_

"...oh," she says, her gaze shifting to her lap. "I... don't know what to say."

"You don't have to," Sasuke sighed heavily. "I had to say it."

Tenten shook her head. "Nonono, at least let me say something!"

Sasuke gestured for her to speak.

"...I guess I'd have to tell you... I think it's cool that you said it straight to my face. It must have taken a lot of balls."

Sasuke scoffed. "Are you going to talk about courage and all that crap?" He didn't want anyone to know that it did take him a while to spit it out. He could already imagine Naruto laughing his ass off at how lame and uncool he's being right now.

"I decided to cut out the whole 'courage' thing," Tenten laughed sheepishly. It was weird talking about this right now, but it's better than an awkward silence. "But you should know. I think you're a great guy. Anyone would be lucky to have you. As long as they're on your good side, of course."

"...thanks."

* * *

_**The Lobby**_

"So sorry I'm late!" Tenten apologized. "I really lost track of time during lunch, and...!"

"I hope your service will make up for the lost time. We have already made a pre-tour payment," Kakuzu said, his eyes narrowing at her. "Otherwise, it would have been a waste of my time and money."

"Take it easy on her," Konan rolled her eyes. "Cool off."

"I'll make it up to you, promise!" Tenten said. "If you guys could just wait here so I can get some things..." She ran over quickly to the staff room, scrambling for important documents and such needed for the tour.

"Little brother," Itachi placed a hand on his brother's right shoulder, startling him. "How did it go?"

"You have got to stop doing that," Sasuke glared. He wished he didn't have to talk about any of this, but then they were all there to bother him all about it. He was so sure the pestering wouldn't stop until he spilled some information.

Katana walked over to his left, perky with excitement. "Did you end up telling her?"

Sasuke slapped his brother's hand away. "Yeah."

"Well?" the couple asked.

"She doesn't _like_ me. She doesn't _like _anyone," the younger Uchiha answered, as sullen as ever. "That's it."

"And you had to cope with the _silence_, did you?" Itachi shook his head. "Don't worry. Things will turn around for you in the future."

"Well, the conversation didn't end on a negative note, thankfully," Sasuke sighed. "What do you even do in this kind of situation?"

Katana stood on her the tips of her toes and patted him on the head. "There, there. We'll take you to a patisserie-"

"Let's take him to a bar. With women," Hidan interrupted, slinging an arm over Sasuke's shoulders."Get him some bitches, that's what you do when a guy's fucked. Don't you agree with me, dickwad? Come on, we'll get you a nice hooker and we'll talk about it. Hell, you don't even _need _to talk shit, all you need is to get out and have some fun."

"Get off me. I _need to work,_" Sasuke growled, hastily walking away to escape the madness. It was about time that the rest of the loony bin joined in with their so called entertainment. Sometimes, he didn't believe that his brother would be hanging out with guys like those.

"Damn, what got _his _fucking panties in a bunch?" Hidan rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Is it alright for me to drop you off at your hotel?" Neji asked as he drove. He figured renting a vehicle for the day would be doing him good in hopes of not getting spotted by anyone. No unwanted exposure. He felt it just _had _to be a secret until everything was made official.

Matsuri nodded. "Only if you don't mind... You can drop me off here, I can always catch a taxi."

"I wouldn't let a lady get back home by herself."

"You don't have to do all this," Matsuri said. "It's a little embarrassing, especially since we just met and..."

"It beats paying for the cab, doesn't it?" Neji shrugged. "Don't worry, I don't mind. I don't particularly have any plans for the rest of the day. So where are you staying at?"

"The um... the Konoha," she answered, flashing a small piece of paper from her purse. "I've got the address right here."

"No need to take that out," he said. "I'm staying over there too. I guess that makes it easier to arrange _meetings_."

She smiled. "I guess so. I'm also here on business with a few people, so I may be unavailable at times. I hope that's not too inconvenient for you, Neji. Maybe email or text would be the most appropriate way to communicate?"

"Exactly as I was thinking," Neji nodded in agreement. "I'll give you my business card once we arrive at the hotel."

"So what brings you to Italy, Neji?" Matsuri asked curiously. "Are you on a business trip too? Or are you just on a holiday?"

He suddenly recalled his recently celebrated birthday. And _oh, _what a terrible day that was, waking up to a teenager screaming (what was supposed to be a _greeting_) at his face. At around 6 or 7 in the morning. "A bit of both," he answered. "My uncle sent me here on _vacation_, but at the same time, he said it was about time I'd start seeing everything in person.

"It's good to balance work and leisure time."

"Apparently so," Neji muttered. He was perfectly content with juggling between his postgraduate work and actually working for Hyuuga Corp, but obviously, some people back at home had a problem with that.

Like a normal human being (which he _is_), he found this transition stressful. It seemed like yesterday that he just entered college, and now all of a sudden, he's got to worry about getting more responsibility over the company and having a future. A future _family, _that is. Big thanks to the oldies back at home that decided all this.

The two walk into the elevator from the carpark and exchange business cards, going on with casual small talk.

Matsuri reaches into her purse, hearing her phone buzzing. She just received a text. "Neji, did you want to come with me to have some coffee? The people I'm on a business trip with are just at the cafe on the second floor, and they wanted me to go. I'm sure you'll get along with them."

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged, pressing the '2' button. "Like I said, I haven't got anything to do for the rest of the day."

Fortunately, the cafe wasn't so crowded at around 4 in the afternoon. Matsuri made her way to the seats beside the open window, greeting her colleagues and gesturing for Neji to come over.

Kankurou waved. "'Ey, Neji! Hyuuga Neji! Long time no see!"

Matsuri's eyes darted from Neji to the three siblings sitting in front of her. "You know him?"

"We go way back," Temari snickered while Gaara merely greeted with a nod.

"You _all _know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Neji sighed. _Great. More people._

* * *

TBC

**Totally anti-climactic, right? Express your disappointment now. **

**Like I said in the beginning, the next update may come in two weeks max. I can't say for sure. Midterms, assignments, blah blah.**

**~ miacchi**


	21. Day 10 Part VI: Good Luck Trying to Hide

******A/N: Apologies for the 2 month delay, guys. Thanks to schoolish things. Y'all can kick back and relax this chapter.**

******Thank you to: **

******_Midnight Insomniac_  
**

******_Ichigo-chan_**

******_OasisSerenity_**

* * *

******_Chapter 21_**

******Day 10, July 13, Tuesday, 4 : 11 PM**

_Sigh. _"Hello, Gaara, hello, Kankuro, and hello, Temari," Neji greeted lifelessly. "What are you three doing here? I heard you had some business to do up in New York. I didn't expect to see you all."

"That finished a little early, so we thought we'd head down here to start something a little early," Temari answered, crossing her legs comfortably. "Why? Does it bother you that we'll be staying here a few days? I hope you don't mind."

"It's not any of my business when or where you are, so I wouldn't mind," Neji said. "It will be Konoha's honor to welcome you during your stay."

"So you'll be starting here in Rome," Gaara crossed his arms. "Congratulations. Great place to start."

"Yes, it is, I already have plans in mind."

"Interesting. Keep us updated on that."

"Speaking of interesting..." Kankuro directed his gaze at Neji and Matsuri. "So you two know each other?"

Matsuri nodded, looking down shyly. Things would get really weird if their _situation _got out. "A bit."

"Oh, so you have friends now, eh, Neji?" Temari snickered. Boy, has she got _some very interesting stories _to tell her! "Well, that's new. So tell me. How long have you two been friends for?"

"Anyway," Neji got up, not wanting the woman to tease him even more. "It's been great seeing you, and I think I should leave you to your... _coffee break_. Goodbye."

"Hold on there, big guy," Kankuro pulled him back down with a smirk. "We've got quite a lot to catch up on. Don't you think? We've got a couple more hours to spare, and I bet you do too."

_And as always, you still remind me of a gangster in the 30's, _Neji thought. He sighed heavily, regaining his posture. "Alright. Exactly what do we need to catch up on? Not to be rude, but I don't think there's anything else for me to say, and neither do you. I see that none of you have changed a bit."

"And you've always been a smartass," Temari commented. "This'll be fun."

_Neji seems to act a little different around them, _Matsuri noted.

"Please. Don't remind me," Neji shook his head. _I was **not **prepared for this. _

"Perhaps..." Gaara spoke. "...we can arrange a later meeting. Hopefully, we can cool our heads by that time." He narrowed his eyes at his siblings. "Tomorrow at 9 in the morning, same place."

"That sounds great," Neji nodded, getting up once again. The youngest of the siblings was always responsible, level-headed and mature, and Neji was thankful that at least one of them was reasonable.

_I owe you one. Again, _he noted. He's already lost count of the times Gaara somehow managed to save him from the older siblings' clutches. He suddenly felt obliged to try and repay that self-imposed debt one day.

* * *

_**4 : 53 PM, The Lobby**_

Chouji rolled his eyes as he walked to the elevator. "Oh, come on, it ain't that bad!" he said. "Everyone's gotta take turns to get everyone coffee! Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke did it two weeks ago, then Kiba, Shino and Akumi had to do it last week."

"Man, I can't be bothered doing that. Ten minutes off my break?" Shikamaru sighed. He was about to take his leave ten minutes earlier, but unfortunately, he was stopped by his friends and colleagues to tell him that he had to fetch the coffee. "Way too much coffee for us to carry."

"Well, suck it up!" Ino nudged his stomach with her elbow as they entered the elevator. She pressed the '2' button. The doors close. "What's annoying is the waiting."

Shikamaru leaned his head against the cool wall. "At least we can borrow the cart up there. That means we don't have to carry them. Plus, we can get back there faster."

"Give a lazy man a job, and he'll find the quickest way to do it," Chouji chuckled. "Our resident genius with an IQ of 200, everyone!"

"I'll make sure this goes by quick," Ino said, hopping out of the elevator and directed herself to the cafe counter. She's confident she can pull some strings with her 'amazing social skills'.

The two men slowly made their way out and ran into Neji, who looked a bit bothered. "Is this going up?" he asked. They nodded as he rushed into the elevator, quickly closing the doors once they stepped out.

Shikamaru heads over to the empty table closest to the counter with Chouji right behind him, claiming the cart nearby. Shikamaru takes a seat and slouches over, hoping the coffee brewing would be over in a snap.

He shuts his eyes for a moment. If he wasn't working right now, he would be in the process of his 3 o'clock siesta. Or something like that. But he's gotta work to live. Thankfully, he doesn't have to listen to his nagging mother right now, threatening to disown him if he just stays at home. But of course, he knows she's not serious about disowning him. Maybe he's just exaggerating a tad bit.

"Shikamaru, the cash?" Ino faces him and asks. "Gotta pay up now!"

"Here you go," Shikamaru reaches into his pocket, then went and handed it over to her. "Is it almost done?"

"Well, aren't we lucky they have 5 people on shift?" Ino grinned widely before turning back to the cashier to pay. "We'll just load them all on here. I hope you have those cup trays ready, we're gonna need a lot of them!"

Chouji and Shikamaru went over and set the many cups of coffee on the cart. They were finished fairly quickly and left as soon as everything was prepared.

"Yo, Shika," Chouji said as they entered the elevator. "I think I saw Temari looking at you."

"You _what?_" His two friends both snapped their attention to him with excitement (Ino) and disbelief (Shikamaru).

"Hey, I only said I _think! _I'm not so sure if she was actually looking at you!"

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Shikamaru shook his head. "Man, now she's gonna go looking for me."

"That's _good,_" Ino said, shaking his shoulder. "She's gonna wanna talk if she did see you! I wouldn't mind giving your location away."

"Good luck trying to hide."

* * *

TBC

**See you next chapter! Update will be quicker.**

**~ miacchi**


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